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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26048740">Tea Shop</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnloxTheBox/pseuds/UnloxTheBox'>UnloxTheBox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Alternate Universe - College/University, Badass Katara (Avatar), Elements of Canon, Enemies to Friends, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Slow Burn Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Tea Server Zuko (Avatar), college shenanigans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:47:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,463</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26048740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnloxTheBox/pseuds/UnloxTheBox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Katara meets Zuko in her Ethics class at Ba Sing Se University, sparks fly –and not in a good way. Months later, he stumbles back into her life as a server at The Jasmine Dragon, an adorable tea shop downtown. Katara still doesn't like Zuko, but she falls in love with the delicious tea… and a friendship, or something more, begins to brew. </p><p>Zutara, Book 3 of ATLA but make it modern/college AU. Featuring wholesome Uncle Iroh, the Dai Li in need of a taking down, oil lord Ozai, and our favorite group of friends to set things right.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Jasmine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara sat slumped in her chair, one hand propping up her chin, the other listlessly scribbling down notes in her favorite blue Kokyo Campus notebook. Afternoon sunbeams filtered through the tall windows, teasing her for being stuck inside a dreary classroom. With something akin to desperation she glanced at the clock on the wall. Four minutes to three, which meant four minutes to freedom, and the only thing standing in her way was the infamous Professor Feng lecturing endlessly about World Politics.</p><p>His voice was so monotone and his gaze so hypnotizing she often felt on the verge of falling asleep, and she wasn’t the only one. Katara willed herself to pay attention for the last few minutes, blearily wondering how Professor Feng managed to take such an interesting topic and turn it into a class she couldn’t wait to get out of.</p><p>“Well, it appears that is all we have the time for today,” he finally intoned.</p><p>Immediately, the entire class began to perk up. “Please come prepared on Thursday to discuss Lord Ruko’s seminal autobiography, from chapters 1-8. I will be sending out an email with discussion questions, so make sure to read through those as well. As a reminder, I will be holding office hours tomorrow if you would like to ask any questions prior to our next class,” he continued at the same pace, heedless of his forty-odd students anxious for release.</p><p>
  <em>Come on, come on! You’re already three minutes over, just let us go already…</em>
</p><p>“That is all. You are dismissed.” A collective sigh of relief, and then as if on cue the formerly still room was filled with motion.</p><p><em>Yes! </em>In a flash, Katara packed away her notebook and trusty Muji pens, furiously zipped up her backpack, and ran out the door. She practically flew down the stairwell and barged through the glass doors, then walked at a more reasonable pace down the quad. All around her, students flowed from one class to another, or headed back to their dorms. [Many were dressed in the colors of their respective university sorted Houses, red for Fire, blue for Water, green for Earth, and white for Air House.] She, of course, wore her classic blue dress with white accents –a piece both functional and comfortable.</p><p>Squinting at her phone through the glare, Katara opened up Kingdom Maps and typed in “The Jasmine Dragon,” then let the blue line guide her through the little college town right next to Ba Sing Se University. Already halfway through her second year, Katara had never actually ventured this far into the Lower Circle, so called because it stood at the bottom of a hill. Her mission today was to scope out the popular new tea shop and see if it fit The Gang’s “vibes,” as her brother liked to say.</p><p>She frowned slightly, remembering Sokka’s jibe the night before.</p><p>“Wait, <em>she</em> gets to go first? Since when do we send the grouch to investigate a hangout spot?” He had gotten a solid punch to the shoulder for that one, and since he had his fencing lessons, Toph and Aang had class, and Suki was working, Katara was the only one free. Besides, even though she had been a little tense recently, what with taking five classes a semester, being co-captain of the Ba Sing Se Swim Team, and a general member of the mixed martial arts club... you couldn’t call her a <em>grouch. </em>At least, not to her face.</p><p>Admittedly it had been a tough week, and there was still one more day to go. Yet another reason why she was more than ready to try a nice cup of calming jasmine tea.</p><p> </p><p>One brisk walk later, Katara stopped in front of cute little shop, almost full despite it being half past three on a Thursday. Over the entrance was a logo of two intertwined dragons surrounding a white flower, all on a background of emerald green. Although she would never admit it, graphic design was one of Katara’s secret passions, and she mentally took note of the logo’s elegant shape as she pushed open the glass door. The soft tinkling of a wind chime accompanied her entrance, making her smile. Several simple wooden tables lined the walls, and a lush green carpet cushioned her feet as she stepped in, looking around at the customers sitting and chatting over steaming cups of tea and little cakes.</p><p><em>Wow, they even have pastries? Hmm… I’d better try one so that I can give a more </em>comprehensive<em> review later. </em>Katara liked this rationalization, and grew even more enamored with it as she examined the tempting row of cakes and tarts on display. By the time she reached the front of the line she had finally settled on a small three-layer green tea mousse cake.</p><p>“Welcome to my tea shop!” boomed a voice in front of her. She looked up and met the smiling face of a portly, grey-haired man, dressed in a simple but comfortable looking uniform. Despite his apparent age, he moved with surprising energy and grace, and Katara couldn’t help but immediately take a liking to him. He both looked like a quintessential grandfather type, speaking with a gravelly warmth in every word.</p><p>“I think you must be a new customer!” he continued. “My name is Iroh, and I am happy to take your order. If you have had a long day and would like to relax, you have come to the right place.”</p><p>“Thank you Mr. Iroh,” she replied, wondering at how he had immediately sensed her feelings. “I’d like one cup of the House Special Jasmine Tea, please, and one of the green tea cakes.”</p><p>He raised a friendly eyebrow. “Please, please, just Iroh is fine. I must say, you have fine taste –that  particular cake is also the favorite of my nephew. Here, take this and one of our servers will bring your order in no time at all,” Iroh said, handing over a numbered metal stand.</p><p>With a quick smile and mental images of a cute little boy with cake, she set off to take the last available corner table. Katara sank gratefully down onto the wooden seat, feeling her stress begin to melt away with the gentle atmosphere of the tea shop. She took a moment just to breathe and let her mind wander. But she hadn’t <em>just</em> come to drink tea, and so, with a sigh, she pulled out a slightly battered textbook and a green notebook –of course, all her subjects were color coded. Well, at least Marine Ecology was a subject she actually enjoyed. Flipping to chapter thirteen, she began to read up on the formation of coral reefs.</p><p>Three paragraphs in, she saw the flash of a cup and saucer in her peripheral vision. Subconsciously she took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance of the tea and letting it seep over her body. A quick sip was enough to assure her of its taste, as well as its scalding temperature. And there was the cake too, a scrumptious looking affair with delicate layers of mousse and crepe, topped with chocolate shavings. She turned to thank the server just as he began to walk away.</p><p>Their gazes met, Katara’s heart skipped a beat, and the “thank you” died on her lips.</p><p>She stared in open astonishment at the young man she instantly knew, the amber eyes that mirrored her own surprise. Katara immediately felt her adrenaline kicking in. For a long moment, while the hum of the shop faded into the background and his face was thrown into sharp focus, neither said a word.</p><p>He had changed since she had last seen him; that messy black hair was longer, those broad shoulders seemed more relaxed. One hand curled around a metal stand, the other supported a tray half full of empty cups. Dressed in the standard shop uniform and a tidy white apron, he could almost be mistaken for someone else entirely. But the burn scar was still the same, and she could never forget the eyes that had once glared at her so fiercely.</p><p>“You –you work here?” she whispered, knowing as soon as she said it that there would be no backing down.</p><p>Zuko, for of course it was Zuko, didn’t reply immediately. For a moment, Katara thought he was just going to walk away. His previously relaxed shoulders were now tense, and the metal stand suddenly looked more like a weapon. Unidentifiable emotions flickered through his face but receded almost as quickly, leaving a stoic blankness in their wake.</p><p>“Yes,” he answered finally, cracking open the delicate silence. His voice was tight, as if covering for another emotion –fear, perhaps? Surprise? But before she could even draw breath to reply he spun away with a sharp twist of the shoulders, vanishing through a curtain panel into the back of the store.</p><p>Slowly, Katara turned back to her seat. Her mind was racing, she could feel her heartbeat thumping in her chest. As if on autopilot her hands reached for the tea, and she carefully drank in a slow trickle. What was she supposed to make of <em>that</em>? The whole exchange had only lasted a few seconds, but left a small hurricane in its wake. Unbidden, memories began to bubble up and resurface. She thought back to the beginning of the year’s fall semester, and the moment she realized that the intense boy in her Ethics of Business class was the son of the oil magnate Ozai. The same man who ruled over Phoenix Rising Corporation with an iron fist, whom employees had nicknamed <em>Lord </em>Ozai for his overbearing demeanor. Zuko’s father ran the powerful company that was threatening to build a giant new pipeline through her hometown –one that would destroy the natural life for miles around, that would pollute the beautiful rivers and lakes of her childhood, not to mention their drinking water. They had seen it all play out before. Phoenix Rising had already destroyed Aang’s once-peaceful home in the mountains, and had sent him, lost and hurting, to start a new life with Katara and her brother.</p><p>And although she had initially tried to see the best in Zuko, their debates in class had quickly become infamous for sharp words and rancor. He seemed to care only for the success of his father’s company, heedless of the human cost and environmental damage that came with “progress.” Over the course of the semester, she had come to associate his face with the enemy, with those that wanted to tear her world apart. But what hurt most was that she had once sensed something different in him, had felt a connection –right before he betrayed her. He had rushed to join his father and sister to bring charges against Aang, still only a first year in university, for defamation against Phoenix Rising. She remembered that day like it was yesterday.</p><p>Taking in a few deep breaths, Katara tried to calm herself down. It had been several months since they had last met, and she hadn’t expected this sudden rush of anger and hurt. He’s not worth it, she told herself. Once she finished the tea and cake, she would go and study somewhere else.</p><p> </p><p>Tragically, both of her purchases went far beyond her expectations. She had hoped that they would be mediocre so she could afterwards avoid the shop for all eternity, but with every sip and every bite of fluffy just-sweet-enough cake her resolve weakened. She could almost forget that the whole encounter with Zuko had even happened. Almost. With one last appreciative glance at her now empty plate, Katara began to pack up her things. As she returned the dishes to the front counter, Iroh walked over and beamed.</p><p>
  <em>Man, how is he always in such a good mood?</em>
</p><p>“I hope you enjoyed your tea, Katara. The Jasmine is one of my favorite blends, although I must admit to having many favorites!” He laughed, and she felt her spirits rise in response.</p><p>“I loved it!” she replied with complete honesty. “It’s one of the best I’ve tried, and I’ve been to a few tea shops around here.”</p><p>Iroh’s eyes twinkled with pride. “Ah, that is incredible to hear, and particularly from someone as well versed in the art of tea as you are.” He hesitated for a moment. “By the way, I saw that you met my nephew today. He said that you two had taken a class together, and it seems to have left a very <em>strong </em>impression.”</p><p>For the second time that day, Katara did a double take. Zuko was this man’s <em>nephew</em>? The cold, arrogant boy she met last semester was related to the owner of this tea shop? With rising horror, another thought came into her mind.</p><p>
  <em>She had picked his favorite cake??</em>
</p><p>“Oh, right,” she said, stumbling over her words. “It was a… really interesting class. I’d, uh, better be off now! My friends are expecting me back home.”</p><p>“Please do come back soon!” Iroh called encouragingly as she made for the door. She nodded back at him, but her heart was sinking. How could she come back to this place, wonderful as it was, when she might see Zuko at any moment? As she left the shop, Katara had only one clear thought in a mental sea of confusion.</p><p>This called for a <em>serious</em> meeting of The Gang.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ginger</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“YOU MET <em>WHO</em> AT THE TEA SHOP??” Sokka’s screeching rang off the walls of his tiny dorm room. Within it, all four members of The Gang were currently crammed together into the one free patch of floorspace. Honestly it wouldn’t be that bad if he would just clean up after himself, but piles of clothes, textbooks, and loose papers had long since turned the room into a minefield of wrinkled shirts and sharp corners. In fact, the only clothes not on the floor were usually on his body –today a wavy blue t-shirt and loose gym shorts. But because Sokka’s room had the most central location, it was where they gathered for emergency meetings. And this was definitely an emergency.</p><p>Toph, sitting cross-legged on the opposite corner of his shaggy carpet, clapped her hands over her ears. She was dressed as always in a mossy green ensemble and sporting a lighter colored headband, which she now appeared to be trying to use as earplugs. “Jeez, Sokka, quiet down! I <em>really </em>don’t want your neighbors calling the Dai Li on us again for a noise complaint.”</p><p>The troublemaker in question stiffened and stopped his spatially restricted pacing. “Oh, well I’m deeply sorry to startle your highness, but I was just reacting to Katara’s <em>very troubling news.</em> And that was only <em>one</em> time!” He frowned, adding, “I really don’t like those guys though. I’m pretty sure the campus police aren’t supposed to be so …creepy.”</p><p>Aang, who had previously been nodding in agreement with Toph, now began to nod with Sokka. Since oddly enough all of them tended to dress in monochrome, he fit right in with a color palette of pale yellows and oranges. Now perched on the edge of Sokka’s bed, he provided a welcome visual contrast to the ocean of blue blankets. “Those guys have too much power, and they always treat the rich students better than everyone else. No offense, Toph. And they overreact to every call, even small things that we shouldn’t need police for! To be honest, sometimes I think we should get rid of them altogether.” He fiddled with a toy hang glider, launching it in tall arcs from one hand to the other.</p><p>“Really Aang? I don’t like the Dai Li either, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to completely get rid of them,” Katara said, glancing up from her knitting. She had also settled on the carpet, as it provided a convenient resting place for her rapidly growing scarf. Even though it was technically the Spring semester Ba Sing Se was still cold at this time of year, and she was eager to find any extra warmth possible.</p><p>“Well, at the very least I think there should be less of them, and they shouldn’t be allowed to carry weapons into student dorms. We have student leaders that should be able to handle a simple noise complaint, or someone getting locked out of their dorm for the tenth time.” His face brightened. “Hey, you know what? Maybe I should start a petition to put more restrictions on them. Or draft a petition?” He turned to Katara. “Can you help me write it? I always mess up the grammar.”</p><p>She gnawed on her lip, thinking it over. “I don’t know, Aang. I feel like we should get a better idea of what’s actually happening before we try to start anything. We need to know what the student body actually thinks, and evidence to back up our claims.” Katara set down her scarf as she started becoming more invested in the idea. “Hey, remember Haru? He still owes me a favor, and he’s an editor at the <em>Ba Sing Se Bulletin. </em>Maybe we can post something in there.”</p><p>“I guess you’re right.” Aang nodded and pulled out a notebook and pen from his roomy tote bag. “We can start small, but we have to start somewhere.”</p><p>“Okay, great!” Sokka broke in. “So I know this is super important and all, but I thought this meeting was supposed to be about <em>Zuko</em>, and how he’s infiltrating our favorite hangout spot.”</p><p>“Hey Snoozles, you do realize you haven’t even been there yet, right? And he literally works there?”</p><p>Sokka sighed with the air of someone much older and wiser, and decided to ignore her second question. “Toph, let me give you some advice. When you get to my age, you’ll learn that not having any firsthand information shouldn’t stop you from forming strong opinions about places you’ve never been. I already <em>know</em> I love it –did you hear Katara talking about that cake? She was practically drooling.”</p><p>As much as she wanted to, Toph couldn’t argue with that one. She was even more partial to desserts than Sokka, having grown up in family that boasted its own personal pastry chef. Her childhood had been filled with all manner of confectionary delights, and even she would admit that in this regard she was rather spoiled. And although she was glad to be finally experiencing the world for herself, the university’s mushy cakes and too-sweet brownies simply could not compare to those she had once tasted.</p><p>Katara narrowed her eyes at them while furiously clicking her knitting needles. “I was <em>not </em>practically drooling! All I said was that their food was really, really good. But I’m actually thinking about going back a different day next week, so maybe Zuko won’t be there.” She looked over at Aang, who had already started scribbling out the beginnings of their newspaper post, and felt a surge of affection for her young friend. You really couldn’t help it when it came to him. When Katara thought about everything he had been through and how much he had grown in just a few months, she was also enormously proud. “But what do you think, Aang? You’re the one who’s been hurt the most by them… would you rather we didn’t go back?”</p><p>Aang stopped his writing and looked up, his expression conflicted. He took up the hang glider again and began to rapidly spin it between his thumb and forefinger. “Honestly, it’s kind of strange. I’m not that mad at Zuko anymore. I don’t know if I’ve forgiven him, but… I feel like there’s more to him than we’ve seen.” He seemed to be remembering something, a distant but poignant memory. “I wouldn’t mind going to The Jasmine Dragon sometime.”</p><p>Three incredulous pairs of eyes stared back at him.</p><p>“Oh… really?” Katara suddenly started to feel guilty about how she had immediately dredged up all her worst memories of Zuko. Then again, a bigger part of her felt that it was more than justified. “I guess you really do see the best in people, Aang.”</p><p>He furrowed his brows. “Well, I don’t know. I just feel like Zuko’s still trying to figure things out, you know? I mean, his sister’s a little scary, and I definitely don’t like Ozai. But his uncle seems okay, so at least some part of their family isn’t terrible.”</p><p>Sokka and Katara looked sheepishly at each other, while Toph continued to stare straight ahead with a new mischievous glint in her eye.</p><p>“Okay, so it’s settled then,” she declared. “Sugar Queen’s going to do some more reconnaissance work for us, and see when Zuko works at the shop. Then, if there’s a time he’s not there we all go and try those pastries for ourselves.” She rubbed her hands together, a smirk beginning to play around the corner of her mouth. “And if we like it, we <em>take over</em>.”</p><p>Nods all around, it seemed like a solid and extremely reasonable plan.</p><p>“Hey, hold on a second,” Katara said after everyone started getting ready to go their separate ways. “One of you guys is coming with me, right? I can’t keep showing up by myself, he’s going to think I’m a stalker or something!”</p><p>“Oh, so you still care what he thinks?” Toph smiled sweetly, her face the picture of innocence. She had years of practice with this expression, having employed it many times to escape from various unladylike scrapes. “Actually, I feel like you’re the perfect one to go. Iroh already knows that you love tea, and besides… you’re the one who has <em>history</em> with his nephew.”</p><p>Katara’s cheeks began to flame, eighty percent from pure righteous indignation and the other twenty from embarrassment. “What? No, of course I don’t care what he thinks! I just think this should be a <em>group </em>activity, and it feels like I’m doing all the work here.” She turned to her brother. “You love trying new foods, why don’t you come next week?”</p><p>Sokka gave a rueful grin as he puttered around the room, moving papers from one pile to another. “Sorry sis, I would! But next week there’s a big fencing tournament and I have extra practices literally every day. If you brought me something back though, I would be <em>forever </em>grateful.” With a wiggle of the eyebrows he added, “The nuttier the better.”</p><p>She sighed. “Aang?”</p><p>Aang shook his head. “I have a ridiculously long history paper due next Friday. Ten pages, and it’s only the second week of school! Sorry Katara, my professors are just really crazy this semester.”</p><p>In a smaller voice, and with a hint of desperation. “Toph?”</p><p>‘Well, well, well,” she said, drawing out every word. “Since you asked me last, Sugar Queen, I think I’d rather not go with you after all.” A short pause.  “You know, I can feel you glaring at me.”</p><p>“<em>Good.” </em>Katara growled, disgusted with the casual betrayal of her friends. She threw her hands up in a gesture of defeat. “Fine. fine. I’ll go, but you guys are financing my next trip!” Her tone brooked no argument, and none was given.</p><p> </p><p>The next Monday, Katara found herself back in front of The Jasmine Dragon’s glass doors. She looked intently in, trying to ascertain the presence or absence of a certain waiter. Now that she was actually here, Katara was a little less sure about the whole venture. But whatever happened, she could handle it. She pushed open the door and started the tinkling of the wind chime. It caught her eye again, and looking up she realized that the lovely sound was created by a pattern of metal leaves.</p><p>
  <em>How cute! Whoever Iroh’s interior designer is, they did a great job.</em>
</p><p>Katara walked up to the counter, greeting Iroh with a cheery wave. She mused over the menu for a while, then decided to try the ginger root blend, along with a three-berry tart. But as she gave her order,  she felt like something was off. Iroh had been so upbeat just a week ago, but now he seemed subdued, as if his shoulders carried more weight. But it was his eyes that made her really worry –they were heavy, burdened by some hidden emotion. Would it be out of line for her to say something?</p><p>“By the way, I really like your wind chime,” she said, testing the waters.</p><p>Iroh smiled half-heartedly and nodded, continuing to punch in her order.</p><p>“Actually, all the decorations are really cute! Did you have someone pick them out, or did you do it yourself?” Katara pressed her lips together as she waited, hoping she wasn’t making things worse.</p><p>His eyes stayed heavy, but he did reply. “Actually, most of it came from the previous owner of the shop. But I did have a great time picking out the finishing touches, including the wind chime.” He seemed to be gazing somewhere very far away. “Like leaves from the vine…”</p><p>Katara felt like she was intruding on a private moment. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of whether she should stay or go. Then Iroh turned his gaze towards her and she stilled, struck by the deep fondness mixed with pain reflected in every line of his face.</p><p>“It reminds me of someone who I have lost. A close member of my family.”</p><p>She felt her heart sink. Without thinking, she reached over the counter and grasped his hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said, and meant it. “I’ve also lost someone very close to me, and I know how much pain it must be causing you.” She reached for her necklace and showed Iroh the pendant. “This is the only thing I have to remember her by.” It wasn’t something she normally drew attention to, but now it seemed right.</p><p>In that moment, Katara felt that she and Iroh reached some kind of understanding. She didn’t know who he had lost, but she knew how it felt. She remembered the long nights as a child, crying alone in her bed and wishing that her mom would come in and comfort her, knowing that she never would. Although the wound was old, it still hurt. Looking now at someone she already felt a connection to, who also seemed to share her pain, Katara tried to channel all her support into her gaze.</p><p>Patting her hand gently, Iroh offered her a small smile, a real one this time. “Thank you, Katara.”</p><p>She nodded, and went off to find an empty table. The corner one from last week was still open, and she managed to slip into the seat just in time to halt another customer en route to the same table. With a surprising sense of ownership she settled in, then mulled over what she had just learned. It didn’t feel quite right to start studying right away. Instead, she closed her eyes and relaxed her body, focusing on her breath as it travelled through her stomach and chest. One breath in, one breath out. And again. Katara felt the weight of her body in the chair, the wooden floor beneath her feet, the bottom of the table that brushed her left knee. She listened to the chattering of people around her, catching snatches of conversation but not following the threads. With each breath she felt the cool touch of her pendant, and the smooth silk that held it in place. A mix of fragrances swirled around her, and she mused that a tea shop must be the best smelling place in the world. With surprise she registered a new flavor somewhere quite close, one more sharp and earthy. She opened her eyes.</p><p>For a moment, Katara was very confused. There hadn’t been a cup of tea on the table before, had there? And she would have remembered that colorful berry tart. With a start she realized that she had been served without even knowing it, by some kind of quiet-footed ninja. Embarrassed, she twisted around to see if there were any likely candidates walking away from her table. But no, every server was on their way to a different customer. And although she hadn’t even realized she was looking for him, Katara realized that Zuko was nowhere to be found.</p><p> </p><p>Much to her satisfaction, the ginger tea and berry tart were just as good as her previous purchases. Katara began to wonder about how often she could come to The Jasmine Dragon without too far disrupting her wallet and her weight; she was a competitive swimmer after all. Two pastries a week couldn’t be that bad, right? Polishing off her last bite of sugared blackberry, she considered upping that number to three.</p><p>
  <em>Oh right! I still need to get something for Sokka. But if I’m going to do that, I could just get a little treat for everyone. They did promise to pay for my portion, after all…</em>
</p><p>Smiling to herself, Katara made her way over to the counter. There wasn’t anyone there at the moment, which gave her time to pick out the perfect pastry for each member of The Gang. Sokka was the easiest and she immediately went for the Triple Nut Tart, composed of a delectable golden crust and topped with pistachios, cashews, and almonds. It was Aang’s nightmare pastry since he was allergic to nuts, but Sokka would go crazy for it. For Toph, she decided on a rich chocolate mousse, and for Aang she picked out a slice of lemon meringue pie. Suki, who was by now and honorary member, didn’t really like sweets, so for her Katara found a fig and cheese quiche. By the time she finished scanning the row of mouthwatering desserts, she had decided that if post-graduation plans didn’t work out, she would go back to school and be a pastry chef.</p><p>Still no one at the counter, and Katara began wonder where Iroh was. He had been upset earlier, so maybe he was taking a break? The other wait staff were getting busier as more customers began to enter the shop. That was alright though, since she wasn’t in too much of a hurry. Katara contented herself with casually eavesdropping on the conversation of the two young women at the closest table.</p><p>“…and have you seen that cute waiter?? I keep hoping that he’ll come to out table but no luck so far. Do you think I should pretend there’s something wrong with my order next time?”</p><p>“Gosh Jenny, don’t speak so loud! He’s coming in our direction now –don’t <em>look, </em>Jenny!”</p><p>Idly, Katara wondered if she would be able to witness a conversation between these women and the mysterious waiter. That should provide enough entertainment until someone came to take her order.</p><p>“Ahem. Katara?”</p><p>She whirled around, caught off guard for the second time in two weeks by the same messy haired and infuriating boy. He stood there expectantly, the picture of a polite and accommodating waiter. Dammit, how had she not heard him coming over? Everything she had been planning to say promptly flew out of her head.</p><p>Frantically, Katara pulled herself together. “I’d like to order a few pastries to take home,” she said, stalling. Blunt and to the point, no niceties there. She remembered very well how Zuko had so abruptly left her the week before, and she was eager to return the favor.</p><p>“Uh, sure. Which ones do you want?” He sounded almost as uncomfortable as she felt. <em>Maybe it’s the guilt kicking in, </em>she thought with a hint of satisfaction.</p><p>“One triple nut, one chocolate mousse, one lemon meringue, one fig and cheese quiche.”</p><p>Unfortunately, Zuko was unfazed by the rapid succession of her orders. “Right, ok. Let me just get those warmed up for you, then.”</p><p>“Oh, you don’t have to –” Katara began to protest, but he was already carrying the tart and quiche over to the oven. She frowned, crossed her arms, and began to tap her foot. There were places she needed to be, after all.</p><p>“So here you are, four pastries and let me just go around back and grab some napkins.”</p><p>This time she didn’t even have a chance to speak before he was gone again. Katara wondered if he actually possessed a key similarity to Toph, or if he had legitimately missed the giant stack of napkins right next to the cash register. Part of her was tempted to just run away from the whole situation. But imagining how excited everyone would be to get the treats, she forced herself to stand her ground.</p><p>After a few minutes longer than it should take any competent person to find napkins, Zuko reemerged with a large stack of them. He was rather fidgety as he added up her total, running a hand through his hair and tugging on his apron strings; Katara observed this but did not know what to make of it. Without a word she handed him her credit card, signed the receipt, and picked up her bag to leave.</p><p>And yet, there was still something she had to ask. <em>This is going to sound so weird after I purposefully didn’t say anything before! But I need to know…</em></p><p>“Hey, is –is your Uncle okay? I don’t mean to pry, I just noticed that he seemed a little under the weather today.” Her voice came out strained and she stopped there, hoping that she wasn’t making a fool out of herself.</p><p>Across the counter,  Zuko’s expression showed that he had not been expecting this question. His eyes went wide, then softened. “Yeah, this is a pretty hard time for him. Maybe the hardest.” He glanced towards the back of the shop. “Uncle usually takes some time off on this day.”</p><p>Katara nodded, a sudden realization flooding in. For the first time that day she looked Zuko in the eyes. “Please send him my condolences,” she said quietly. “And please tell him that the tea was delicious.”</p><p>With that, she turned and walked away. She didn’t look back, not until she was out of the store and halfway up the hill. Not until The Jasmine Dragon was almost out of sight. This was probably for the best, at least for now.</p><p>If she had looked back, she would have seen a more human version of Zuko than the portrait she attributed to him in her head. She would have seen a young man trying to take care of himself and his family, or at least the family that cared about him. And she would have seen two startled amber eyes, tinged with a newfound respect.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t until Katara was back in her dorm room and unpacking the takeout boxes that she found the note. Instantly, she knew who it must have come from. So as a matter of course she delayed opening it until all the boxes had been neatly set out and labelled with the date, pastry name, and intended recipient. She took her time dividing up the napkins into four even piles. She double checked to make sure everything was in order. Then, she either couldn’t put it off anymore or couldn’t resist. With the same trepidation she felt when flipping to the back of an exam to see her score, Katara unfolded the white napkin with her name scrawled on it in blotchy black ink.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And so the plot thickens... as always, all your support and reviews are very appreciated!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Elderflower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Appa floated from one end of his long enclosure to the other, looking very pleased with himself. He gobbled up bits of food in his tiny mouth, swished around coming face to face with his visitor, then darted off to reveal his lovely double tail. </p><p>Sighing with contentment, Katara closed the plastic orange container and returned it to its place on top of the adjacent shelf. She would never get tired of watching Aang’s well fed betta fish roam through the plastic seaweed and imitation coral. Neither she nor her brother had ever owned a pet before, but Appa had quickly become one half of their beloved group mascots, with the other half going to the perky little frog named Momo. Ba Sing Se generally didn’t allow pets on campus but made an exception for small fish and therapy animals, so now the Gang took turns taking care of the tank’s inhabitants. There was the feeding, which was great, and washing out the tank, which was less so. Katara hadn’t thought that two such small animals could make such a mess, but this dynamic duo had quickly taught her better.</p><p>Still, they were a constant source of entertainment and joy, and Aang cherished them. Which is why it hurt him so badly when his room was broken into and Appa stolen, around the same time as the Phoenix Rising lawsuit. He had been devastated for the two weeks his trusted companion stayed missing, unable to sleep or eat, much less study. “Missing” posters plastered all over campus had yielded no result, and the situation had looked hopeless. But then one day out of the blue, Appa was returned safe and sound outside his door, swimming vigorously around in a tiny fishbowl. They still didn’t know how it had happened, but the Gang were all overjoyed to have Appa back and had been lavishing fish food on him ever since.</p><p>As per usual on Wednesday afternoons, Katara was waiting in Aang’s room until he finished classes and they could head over to the library. She made it a point to assign a study day every week, fearing that certain members of their group would never do so otherwise. As a result of some scheming on her part, Suki would usually join too and later go out with Sokka for their date night. You couldn’t say Katara didn’t care –however much she and Sokka fought, she still looked out for his grades. Luckily, like most of her ideas, it had worked out well in the end. </p><p>At the moment, however, she was deeply regretting her idea to ever set foot into The Jasmine Dragon. All her friends had loved the pastries she brought back, and Toph had even given her a fist bump. This was an exciting development because before their intervention, she had been in the habit of using punches to express thanks, or really any emotion at all other than sarcasm. But as glad as Katara was to escape one of her friend’s sharp punches, another worry loomed much larger in her mind.</p><p>She still hadn’t told them about the message on the napkin. She patted her right jacket pocket, where it had been hastily thrust in after Sokka barged in two nights ago, asking if she had, after all, found any nutty desserts. The note had stayed there ever since, and she for the hundredth time she resisted the urge to bring it out again. Although she hated to admit it, she knew the short message almost by heart now.</p><p>
  <em>Katara,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hey. I don’t really know how to say this, but I want to apologize, for everything. I’ve changed, and I want to make things better. I’m sorry. <strike>And also for using a napkin, but I couldn’t find any other paper besides receipts and that didn’t seem like a good idea either.</strike> I know this doesn’t make up for anything, but I thought you might like this: it’s a packet of one of my favorite green tea blends with elderflower.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Z</em>
</p><p>What was she supposed to make of that?? Why had he sent <em>her</em> a message, of all people, and why had he signed it with just an initial? Who did he think he was, some kind of secret agent? And (although she gave this question less thought) what was the probability of the tea being poisoned? Katara groaned, trying to put a face to those words. Zuko had seemed sincere enough the last time they met, but hadn’t she already fallen into that trap before?</p><p>He had seemed <em>different</em> then, when they were stuck in that elevator at the end of last semester. He had been honest with her, even vulnerable. They had spoken about the loss of their mothers, and she had felt a connection start to grow between them. Or at least, she thought she had. Now, she wasn’t so sure.</p><p><em>Going down that path again isn’t going to help!</em> She was getting angry with herself, and angry with him for making her so confused. As a bright knock sounded at the door, Katara shoved any Zuko-related thoughts to the back of her mind.</p><p>“Come in!” she called. A familiar bald head appeared in the doorway, and she added “You know, you really don’t have to knock before coming into your own room.”</p><p>Aang gave her his trademark grin, the one that stretched from ear to ear and always made her feel better. “Heh, better safe than sorry! You ready to go?”</p><p>Katara nodded, grabbing her bag. She waved to Appa and Momo on the way out, and flicked off the lights. Keeping her tone casual, she asked, “So how’s your essay coming along?”</p><p>Her suspicions were confirmed when Aang’s hands shot to the back of his neck and he smiled a little too breezily, a sure sign that he was embarrassed or trying to cover something up. “Aang... please don’t tell me you haven’t started.”</p><p>“Ahh, ok, ok, I haven’t. But I’ve been working on other things too, you know! Like that newspaper post we were talking about.” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that looked like it had been ripped out of someone else’s notebook. “You’ll look it over for me, right?”</p><p>Katara snatched the paper out of his hands and gave him a stern glare. “Yes, I will. But while I do, you’re going to be starting your paper, and I expect at least an outline before I give you any edits.” She hid a glimmer of satisfaction as Aang frantically nodded, and the two walked the rest of the way engaged in gossip about her new swimming coach, and the big-eared girl from Psychology who always popped up when he least expected it.</p><p> </p><p>The main library of Ba Sing Se was an architectural marvel, modeled after the fabled library of the scholar Wan Shi Tong. Although no one had laid eyes on the original building for several hundred years, a few plans had managed to survive and were discovered by the university’s own Professor Zei a few decades ago. It was one of Katara’s favorite spots on campus and she could often be found studying there, stressed out by her classes but comforted by the gallant arches and quiet walkways.</p><p>On Wednesday afternoons however, the Gang got together and disturbed the peace. They took over a large circular table tucked away in a back corner, so as not to distract other students with their often heated discussions. Luckily the head librarian was a friendly sort, although quite eccentric. He was also surprisingly strong for a man his age, and had on more than one occasion challenged Toph to an arm wrestling match. Although it always ended in his hard won victory, one of Toph’s goals was to out wrestle Bumi before finishing college and she got closer with every attempt.</p><p>On this particular day Katara and Aang were the first to arrive, and they quickly staked out the best seats next to the window. The original plans had been rather short on windows, but a previous generation of students had been adamant about having natural light. Now, Katara reaped the benefits as she settled in and began to read through Aang’s draft.</p><p>She made a few notes and corrections in the margins, then brought up the idea of sending out the final version through their email networks. This would be less likely to attract unwanted attention than publishing it in the school newspaper, which the Dai Li would surely notice. By that time the remaining members of their study group had assembled, and Suki was the first to venture her support for the idea.</p><p>“Yeah, I think that’s totally valid. I’ve had a few run-ins with the Dai Li as a student EMT, and honestly a lot of times they just escalate bad situations. You guys made quite a few new friends last semester, right? And I could reach out to the dance community! Well, some of them anyway.” She leaned back in her chair, twisting a strand of short golden-brown hair between her fingers.</p><p>Sokka nodded. They all valued Suki’s opinion, but he most of all –especially now that they were officially dating. They had gotten off to a rough start, back when he had been so naïve as to comment in her presence that “dancing isn’t a <em>real </em>sport, and it doesn’t look that hard anyway.” As head of the one and only hip-hop fusion dance group “The Kyoshi Warriors,” Suki had been very offended. But after joining in on just one practice, Sokka had been converted. He hadn’t stuck it out with the group, but <em>had</em> somehow managed to impress their leader. He could still hardly believe his luck.</p><p>While Sokka ruminated on his good fortune, Aang began to compile a list of emails that they could trust. Toph also settled in, leaning her white cane against the wall and beginning to identify igneous rocks by touch. Meanwhile, Suki marveled that Toph had been carrying those rocks in her bag all day. “No wonder it weighed like a ton of bricks!”</p><p>Katara looked over at her friends and smiled, content that all was right with her little sphere of the universe. She pulled out her World Politics reading –they were now onto Chapter 13 of Ruko’s autobiography, the chapter entitled “The Perils of Trusting.” After reading another three, she would move onto finishing her Marine Ecology problem set, then start her Organic Chemistry one. Katara was actually excited to start that last pset, as she actually quite enjoyed the subject. For now though, she was going to concentrate on Ruko’s surprisingly well written story. Sinking into her plush chair, she began to lose herself in the captivating and tragic events. She could almost hear his conversation with Azulon that fateful night, with a whole oil empire at stake. The roar of their words drowned out everything else, until she felt a sharp punch in her shoulder.</p><p>She yelped and glared at Toph, who of course was the originator of the punch. “What was that for?”</p><p>Toph stared defiantly back, then gestured to the newcomer who was standing in front of their table, shoulders loose, hands clasped together over a hefty textbook. Messy dark hair framed his face, and he sported a relaxed smile that Katara knew all too well.</p><p><em>Ahh, I’m not ready to see you again yet! </em>She tried and failed to melt into the chair.</p><p>“Hey guys,” Jet said. “Just saw y’all over here and wondered what my old friends were up to. What’s going on these days?” He glanced at Katara, but she quickly looked away. While Aang began telling him about their plans against the Dai Li, she fumed in silence.</p><p><em>Nothing ever happened between us,</em> she repeated to herself. <em>And what’s happened has happened. Everyone else forgave him, right? It’s just… taking me a little longer. </em></p><p>Still, she didn’t relax again until Jet was out of sight, having left with promises of “Yeah, I’ll definitely show this to my Freedom Fighters.” She waved goodbye to Suki, who had to leave for an extra dance practice before the upcoming showcase. Then she returned to the book, letting the reel of the story draw her back in. Right, so Azulon had just turned against Ruko and left him for dead, when…</p><p>“Katara!” Sokka hissed.</p><p>“What?” she hissed back. “Can you please not interrupt when I’m clearly busy?”</p><p>Sokka began to make large pantomiming gestures in an unsuccessful attempt at subtlety. “Katara! Look who’s here!”</p><p>But she didn’t have to. She heard him first, and knew.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Zuko here,” said Zuko.</p><p>Katara’s heartbeat began to skyrocket. What did it take to get away from this guy? Slowly, she turned to face the second dark haired intruder of the day.</p><p>He stood there in front of the table, just a few feet away. Katara noted that he was wearing regular clothes and not the shop uniform, which felt both familiar and strange. The air seemed to get warmer, more charged. Or was that just her?</p><p>“I uh, just saw you guys studying here and thought I’d pop over for a bit. Listen, I know we have a rough past. I’m sorry for all that, and I’m a different person now. I want to apologize. And I want to help you guys. I heard that Aang needed an econ tutor, so I thought, you know, maybe I could be of some use there.” Zuko tried for nonchalance and halfway succeeded, but his movements were too stiff to belong to a man fully at ease.</p><p>All eyes turned to Aang, who’s expression was uncharacteristically flinty. He took a deep breath. “How can we trust you, after everything you’ve done to us?” It was the question on all their minds, and Sokka gave a fierce nod.</p><p>“Look, I know it might be hard to trust me right now. I’ve done a lot wrong in the past, and I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked you, Aang, and I shouldn’t have called the Dai Li on you guys. I’ve changed a lot in the past few months and I’m… I’m good now.” He winced, as if aware of how that last sentence sounded.</p><p>“Wait, <em>you’re </em>the one who called the Dai Li??” Sokka yelled, his voice increasing in pitch with every word. “They threatened to suspend us for a noise complaint!”</p><p>Katara was incredulous. Zuko had done <em>real </em>damage to their group. She remembered the long weeks spent trying to protect Aang, dodging company agents who looked more like mob employees than corporate ones while also having to navigate university life. Zuko’s family had wanted to send her friend to prison! Did he really expect them to just take him in after one self-proclamation of change?</p><p><em>Or two… </em>her mind couldn’t resist adding in. She felt the note as if it was burning a hole in her pocket, but refused to acknowledge it.</p><p>Toph was shaking her head. “Name one reason why we should even be listening to you right now.”</p><p>Glancing past the wall of stony faces, Zuko marshalled up his answer. “Well, I saved Appa that one time. From the Dai Li. Your fish was in their office, and I swiped him back. I could have just left him there!”</p><p>Aang’s eyes widened, and even Sokka looked surprised.</p><p>Could it be true? There was so much confusion surrounding this aggravating man. Katara never knew what to think about him, or which words she could trust. Now as she stared at the unwelcome intruder, all she could remember was how she <em>had</em> believed that he could change, and how thoroughly she had been fooled. Her anger rose like the coming of the tide.</p><p>In the next few moments, several events went down in rapid succession. First, Katara rose from her seat in one swift movement, knocking it over in the process. As the Gang stared at her in astonishment, she reached for her water bottle –a beautiful double insulated one that went everywhere with her –and yanked off the cap. A flash of movement, and the next thing anyone knew, Zuko was drenched in water as Katara faced him with an outstretched arm and blazing eyes. The last few drops fell from her bottle, but the vast majority had landed exactly where she intended.</p><p>“Go away, and don’t come back,” she told him, her words falling hard and flat. “We don’t <em>ever</em> want to see you again.”</p><p>For a moment, everything was still. Something hopeful died in Zuko’s expression. Then, still dripping and with his hair plastered flat against his face, he turned and walked away.</p><p> </p><p>Later that day, after Katara decided they had finally studied for long enough, the Gang convened in Aang’s room to talk about what had happened. He had convinced them that emotions were still running too high in the immediate aftermath, and they would discuss after everyone cooled down.</p><p>“I don’t know guys, maybe he deserves a second chance.” Toph lay on her back on Aang’s softest rug, one leg crossed over the other and arms folded behind her head. Her face had been smooth before, but she pursed her lips as the clacking of her friend’s knitting needles intensified.</p><p>“How can you say that?” Katara burst out. “After everything he’s done, after how miserable he made our lives last semester?” She was still furious, having spent the intervening hours constantly distracted with memories of their past interactions. And how Zuko had looked a tiny bit sad as he walked away. Ugh, he had even ruined her Orgo problem set!</p><p>Meanwhile, Aang was lost in thought, turning an idea over in his head and probing it for weaknesses. After a measure of mental expenditure he was satisfied, and brought it to the attention of the group. “Guys, I’ve been thinking. Remember when he said that he saved Appa? If that’s true –”</p><p>“Doubtful,” Katara interjected.</p><p>He forged on. “If that’s true, maybe we can bring him here and see how Appa reacts! If Appa likes him then maybe he’s telling the truth, and if not… well, then he’s probably lying.”</p><p>Sokka raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying you want to let our former enemy into the group or not based on what your <em>fish </em>thinks?”</p><p>“Hey, Appa is highly intelligent!” Aang shot back.</p><p>As if on cue, Appa bobbed up and down in his tank, in seeming agreement. Momo swam up too, abandoning his secret cave to see what all the fuss was about.</p><p>Toph pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Okay Twinkletoes, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try your plan. But the problem is, none of us know how to contact him.”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Aang sighed. “I didn’t think of that.”</p><p>The sound of the needles stopped. “Um, actually…” Katara began, looking sheepish. “I kind of have his number?” Seeing the shocked expressions on her friends faces, she hastened to explain. “It was for a debate that we had last semester! We were forced to coordinate a practice session before class, so we <em>had</em> to exchange numbers. We’ve only ever sent, like, three texts though! And I’m really bad about deleting my contacts…”</p><p> “Well, well, well,” Toph cackled gleefully. “If that’s the case, then I’m sure you’ll be delighted to invite him over and have a reunion with Appa.”</p><p>“Actually, I was thinking I could just give his number to Aang!” Katara offered up her most winning smile, one that had served her well in the past. “That would make a lot more sense, right?” Unfortunately, with a quick glance around it was clear that she was outvoted. She sighed and got her phone out, then proceeded to spend ten minutes typing and deleting her message until Toph wrestled her to the floor and Sokka, triumphantly grabbing the phone, hit “send”.</p><p>Fifteen minutes later, a sharp knock sounded at the door.</p><p>Aang sprang up. “I’ll get it!”</p><p>He hopped over to the door, and with a quick twist of the knob drew it open. Then he instinctively took a step back, a guarded expression on his face. As Aang backed away it became clear to everyone in the room what had caused this sudden shift, and they all sat a little straighter. Standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the harsh light of the hallway, were two Dai Li agents.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Poor Zuko :( Well, it's only fair that he needs to do some work before he can join the study group! (A bit like Chang, for anyone who watches the show Community)<br/>Hope you guys enjoyed that one, I had fun writing it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Just Add Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a palpable shift in the energy of the room. All the talking came an abrupt halt, and everyone was very still. Even Toph who at this point couldn’t tell who had entered, knew that they were in trouble. Katara noted with a shudder that even though the agents stood just outside the doorway, their shadows slunk far into the room.</p><p>The taller of the two Dai Li was first to break the silence. Dressed in a full uniform that only sharpened his intimidating demeanor, he patted his gun holster as he spoke. “We heard reports of suspicious activity around here. You kids know anything?” He scanned the room with the robotic smoothness of a swiveling security camera.</p><p>“Uh, sorry guys,” Aang responded cautiously. “We don’t know about any suspicious activity, and we’ve all been in this room for the past half hour.”</p><p>“That’s <em>very</em> interesting,” the smaller agent sneered, “because our tip mentioned the area around <em>this </em>room exactly.”</p><p>Sokka crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. All we’ve been doing is talking. Peacefully. With our friends.”</p><p>“Are you talking back to me, boy?” the agent said, this time adding a dirty glare into the mix.</p><p>Worried about where the situation was heading, Katara broke in. “Sorry officers, but what they’re saying is true. If you let us know what kind of suspicious activity you’re looking for though, maybe we can be of more help.”</p><p>Unfortunately, this had the opposite of her intended effect.</p><p>“Oh, so now we have to answer to some little girl, do we?” came the deliberately misunderstanding reply. He turned towards his larger companion. “Last time I checked, <em>we</em> were the ones asking the questions.”</p><p>Now Katara was beginning to get mad. She had half a mind to give the officers a piece of her mind, but luckily before she could do so Toph spoke up.</p><p>“Hello officers,” she said. Her posture straightened, the pitch of her voice rose an octave, and she in an instant became picture of an upright young lady. “It may interest you to know that I am Toph Beifong. Perhaps you’ve heard of my family before?” Without waiting for a response she smoothly continued, “I apologize for the behavior of my friends, but we were in truth doing nothing wrong.”</p><p>Both agents turned pale, and the taller one threw off a quick salute. “Apologies, Miss Beifong,” he said. “It’s just that we received notice on a good source, and we wanted to perform our duty and investigate.”</p><p>“Of course, of course,” Toph replied. To Katara, it seemed that she was enjoying this immensely. “But as you can see, there is nothing to investigate here.”</p><p>The agents looked at each other, hesitating. “Ah, we were instructed to look around the room just as a precaution,” his companion. “If you wouldn’t mind, we could be done in a few minutes.”</p><p>Toph frowned. That ploy usually had a better effect, but these guys were annoyingly persistent. She was considering whether or not to push back when a new voice rang in from the hallway.</p><p>“Officers, don’t you know who you’re talking to? That’s Toph Beifong! I assure you, however good a source you had, the retribution of her father would not be worth it.”</p><p>The Dai Li whirled around, flustered that they had been so easily snuck up on. “And who might <em>you</em> be?” the smaller one asked in an attempt to save face.</p><p>“I’m Zuko,” the newcomer said, sounding so different from his self-introduction a few hours earlier. “Brother of Azula.” From the sliver that Katara could see from between the mismatched shoulders of the Dai Li, his gaze was level, confident, and even a touch imperious. Despite herself, she was impressed.</p><p>“Oh… I see,” the officer said, sorry that he had asked. “We were not aware of your arrival. In that case, I assume you are here to handle the situation.” When Zuko gave an affirmative nod, the officers offered the slightest of bows and strode away.</p><p>Zuko walked into the room, stopping just inside the doorway. “So uh, should I take my shoes off? Or…” When no response came, he glanced around and registered the baffled faces of the room’s inhabitants.</p><p>“Dude,” Sokka said in awe. “How did you <em>do </em>that?” His eyes lit up, exploring all the possibilities that came with having an accomplice impervious to the Dai Li. “Oh, and you can leave your shoes on the mat,” he added, gesturing to the neat rug to the right of the door.</p><p>“I actually had the same question,” Katara said, sounding more than a little bit suspicious. “And how exactly do you plan to <em>handle </em>us?”</p><p>“Oh, that,” Zuko replied with a chuckle. “Actually, I have no idea why he said that! Azula’s pretty friendly with those guys, but I guess they don’t know how much our relationship has, uh, <em>deteriorated </em>recently.” He made a motion to sit down, then stopped, giving a doubtful glance towards the fish tank. “I actually came, I think, to be judged by Appa?”</p><p>At this point, Aang decided it was time to take control of the situation. He gestured for Zuko to approach the tank, then with a grand flourish handed him the betta fish food. “The time has come,” he said grandly, having shifted into presenter mode, “to see if you were telling the truth about Appa. Thanks for getting the Dai Li off our tail, by the way. But <em>this</em> is an even greater test still.”</p><p>Wondering if he had made the right decision in answering Katara’s text, Zuko gingerly lifted the lid off the tank and sprinkled in a generous quantity of dried brown flakes. The whole room held their breath, waiting to see if Appa would accept the offering.</p><p>The reaction was immediate. From the moment the flakes hit the water, Appa was gobbling it up. He even bobbed up and down in front of Zuko, as greeting an old friend.</p><p>“Wow,” Aang said, and Zuko let out an internal sigh of relief. “This is pretty conclusive evidence, especially since it’s not even Appa’s normal feeding time.” He looked up at the taller student, his now-serious face illuminated by the fluorescent glow of the fish tank. “I think… maybe you were meant to be my Econ tutor.”</p><p>“Great!” Zuko replied with an eagerness that came as a surprise even to him. “It would be my honor.”</p><p>“But first, I have to ask my friends to see if they’re okay with it.” Aang turned around. “Toph?”</p><p>Toph shrugged, as if to say that she couldn’t care less. “I’m fine with whatever.” She was still peeved that Zuko had been able to get rid of the Dai Li when she couldn’t, but it seemed childish to admit it.</p><p>Aang nodded. “Sokka?”</p><p>Sokka took longer with his response, despite his initial enthusiasm. He had known Zuko for longer than Toph had and was understandably still wary. But if Aang thought it was for the best, he said, he was fine with it.”</p><p>“Katara?”</p><p>A small bead of sweat began to trickle down Zuko’s temple. Katara was looking, on the whole, rather unpleased with how the situation had played out. He waited in anticipation as she took her time thinking it over.</p><p>“Fine,” she said finally. “Whatever you say, Aang, I’ll go along with.” She turned to stare Zuko straight in the eyes. “But don’t get me wrong. I still don’t trust you. And if you give me any reason to think any worse of you than I already do, I’ll <em>end </em>your tutoring career. <em>Permanently.”</em></p><p>Zuko gulped, aware that he now had two intimidating women in his life to deal with. “I understand. I thank you all, and I promise that I won’t let you down!” Four faces stared back at him, their expressions ranging from blank to positively stony. He began to think about an exit strategy. “I guess I’ll just, uh, see myself out then?”</p><p>Always the gracious host, Aang ushered him to the door. “No need to start studying until next week, I think. Katara has a swim meet this weekend that you should probably go to, now that you’re part of the group. She’ll text you!” And with that, the door was promptly closed and Zuko found himself standing alone in the hallway. He thought he heard an enraged yell and then a thwumping sound –perhaps the result of a well-placed pillow? But through the door it was hard to tell.</p><p>All in all, not a bad result, he thought. He hadn’t been drenched in water this time, and there was a swim meet to look forward to. Not only was he invited to a group event, but Katara would also text him? Things were definitely looking up.</p><p> </p><p>Saturday morning found Zuko awake bright and early, as he got ready for his first ever outing as a part of The Gang. For him 9 am counted as very early indeed, especially for a weekend. Normally he would sleep in until 10:30 at least, but on this particular day he was trying to make a good impression and did <em>not </em>want to be late. Standing in front of his mirror, he attempted with limited success to comb his hair into a more presentable fashion. But since it still wasn’t long enough to put into a man bun, it appeared he was doomed to perpetually messy hair.</p><p>And how was one supposed to dress for a swim meet anyway? Zuko generally tried to stay <em>away</em> from water as much as possible, which included all water sports. Although he would never admit it, he was a bit nervous. The Gang hadn’t been particularly welcoming the last time they met, although his conscience reminded him that there was good reason<em>. </em>He glanced again at the short texts Katara had sent the night before.</p><p>
  <em>9:30 am, Ba Sing Se Swimming Pool.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Front left bleachers.</em>
</p><p>She was concise, he had to give her that. Finally, he decided on a trusty combination of dark red shirt and loose black pants. After shoving his phone in his pocket, Zuko grabbed his custom painted flaming skateboard from its stand by the door and rolled out of the dorm.</p><p>In short order he arrived at the pool, skidding to a halt inches away from the entrance and startling another student who was on her way out. Startled, she looked at him and blushed, then giggled and hurried away. Zuko grinned. Man, was it a confidence boost when girls did that! Feeling rather smug, he picked up his skateboard and sauntered into the pool arena.</p><p>Upon walking in, he was stunned first by the heavy smell of chlorine and second by the sheer quantity of people in attendance. Why were all these college students awake so early on the weekend? Two long rows of bleachers faced each other across opposite long ends of the pool, and both were nearly full. Another school was there as well, but he had no idea who, and frankly he didn’t much care. Ba Sing Se’s team was sure to be better.</p><p>“Over here!” he heard a familiar voice call, and he oriented to Aang’s direction. After scanning the crowded bleachers he was able to locate the Gang, all looking wide-awake and eager with the exception of Sokka, who appeared to be trying to catch up on his beauty sleep. Sokka’s girlfriend was there too, but Zuko wasn’t quite sure what her name was. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to them with swift strides to mask his uncertainty, and found an empty spot to the right of Toph and Aang.</p><p>“So uh, who are we playing against today?” he asked, trying to make conversation.</p><p>Toph looked at him aghast, rising from her slouched position. “Only Omashu College, our biggest rival! This is the first meet of the season, so it’s a really big deal! And we’re going to <em>crush</em> them.” She punched a fist into her opposite palm, relishing the thought of Omashu’s imminent defeat.</p><p>“Oh, right,” Zuko said, as if he had known all along. “If you don’t mind me asking, though, aren’t you… going to be a little bored here?” He paused, hoping he hadn’t touched on a sensitive topic. Having been surrounded by servants for the majority of his life, Zuko wasn’t too used to caring what people thought of him. At least, not before The Incident, which had left him with both a physical and emotional scar. And even after starting university, his single-minded focus on regaining the approval of his father meant he had always had a limited social life. Now that he was actually trying to make friends instead of keeping them away, he found the whole business rather stressful.</p><p>Luckily, Toph didn’t seem to care about his lack of social grace. She jerked her thumb in the general direction of the rest of the Gang. “Nah, I’m fine. Sokka and Aang usually narrate for me, and besides, I like listening to the sound of the water. And the sound of my enemies defeat.” She grinned, but Zuko was pretty sure she was joking. “I hope you’re ready for this, because they usually get pretty excited.”</p><p>That, as it turned out, was an understatement. With the firing of the starting gun and the splash of the first eight swimmers entering the pool, Sokka woke up and snapped to attention. While Aang channeled the energy of a hawk, surveying the pool and calling out minute differences between the swimmers’ positions, Sokka kept up a constant stream of announcer-like narration. Zuko wasn’t even sure what style of swimming was taking place, but it was moving fast. <em>Really</em> fast. He didn’t know that people could move through water like that!</p><p>“Ba Sing Se takes the lead again as lane four inches out in front. Wow, look at him go! He’s stretching out the lead, and now they flip around for the second fifty meters, already halfway through the race. Oh, but what’s this? Lane 6 from Omashu is trying to make a comeback!” Sokka boomed out the latest updates as the crowd around him leaned in. Toph was the only one who still slouched back against the bleachers, but a careful observer would see that she was just as invested.</p><p>“Omashu is in front!” Aang called out. “He’s trying to push for a lead, but lane four is staying right on his tail!”</p><p>“That’s right, and now they’re even. It’s just a short stretch left, and it’s anyone’s game at this point!”</p><p>Despite his long-held distaste for the clamorous cheering of sports fans, Zuko found himself joining in with the excited yelling as the swimmers neared the finish. Azula would make fun of him if she knew, but in that moment he realized that he didn’t even care. It was still a tight race, and he was rooting –out loud, even –for lane four. His heart rose in his chest as it came down to the final few strokes and… yes! Ba Sing Se’s swimmer came in first, and Omashu’s second. He began to clap furiously.</p><p>“Wow Zuko,” Sokka’s girlfriend, who he now knew as Suki, said. “I didn’t know you were into competitive swimming.” He glanced at her face for any traces of sarcasm, but to his surprise there were none.</p><p>“Oh, It’s more of a recent thing,” he said. “I haven’t paid too much attention before, but that first round was passably entertaining. Uh, by the way, do you know when Katara is swimming?”</p><p>Suki smiled. “Katara’s not on until the second half, because she swims freestyle and relay. But don’t worry, college meets usually go by pretty fast. The men’s team is going to do the second heat, and after that the women’s team will swim the same event before they move onto the next one.”</p><p>Zuko nodded, grateful for her explanation. “Thanks,” he added as an afterthought, and was rewarded with a “No problem!” in return. Hm, maybe he was getting the hang of this.</p><p>The next few events passed by in a blur, just as Suki had said they would. As the heats continued he realized that no one cared how loud he was, and he began to cheer even more. Ba Sing Se won several heats, and Omashu did as well. Zuko had no idea how the points were awarded, but both schools stayed fairly even with one team gaining the advantage after a particular event, then losing it the next. He noticed that there were fewer heats in the women’s division, and before he knew it Katara’s race had arrived.</p><p>Zuko didn’t recognize her at first, when she stepped out onto the starting block with her hair under a silvery blue swim cap and eyes hidden behind reflective goggles. Once he did locate her, he was struck by her intense concentration, the determination written into the lines of her face. Katara stared straight at the water, waiting for the sound of the starting gun.</p><p>“And now,” Sokka began, “the event we’ve all been waiting for, the women’s 800 meter freestyle. The swimmers are in position, with our own Katara in lane three. The referee blows on his whistle, and…”</p><p><em>Crack! </em>The gunshot rang through the echoey pool, and the swimmers dove in. Zuko loved watching the diving in and the first stretch where each competitor was fighting for the top spot. For the first fifty meters, all eight stayed even. Then as they flipped off the pool wall swam back to the start for the second fifty, Katara and two swimmers from Omashu began to move to the top of the pack.</p><p>“As we pass 100 meters, Katara and lanes five and six lengthen out. Their strokes are longer, but they’re moving further with each one. Folks, it looks like the main race is going to play out between these three competitors.” Sokka announced. And because he was after all, the brother of one in particular, a strident “GO KATARA!” came shortly after.</p><p>Zuko didn’t know that his own heart would beat so fast just from watching other people race, but he felt it pounding now. His fists clenched, and he willed Katara forwards.</p><p>He must have shown more emotion than he realized, because after the next lap Aang intervened and told him not to worry so much.</p><p>Zuko, unaware that he had looked worried, was shaken out of his focus.</p><p>“Katara’s pretty much the best swimmer here,” Aang continued with the upmost confidence. “She’ll win this thing no problem, so just enjoy it.”</p><p>The more he watched, the more it appeared true. By 200 meters in, she had pulled ahead by two body lengths from the Omashu swimmers, and with each stroke that gap increased another few inches. Katara was in her element. She swam straight through the center of her lane, her torso as steady as if she was holding a plank in the pool. The water seemed to glide off her body as she flashed through it, and small plumes of white froth trailed her tight kicks. By four hundred meters, Zuko finally relaxed and took Aang’s advice. Katara was now half a pool’s length in front of her closest competitors and showed no signs of letting up. He began to feel bad for the team from Omashu, who must have realized by now that the best they could hope for was second.</p><p>“All right, folks, we’re coming up on the last 150 meters, and to keep up the suspense I’ll just say that it’s a tight race for second and third place. Lane five from Omashu has kept her place, but her teammate in lane six has moved back into fourth.” Sokka was settling into his rhythm, and Zuko realized why the seats around their group had been so packed. If Sokka’s academic or fencing career didn’t work out, he could probably find a job as a sports announcer.</p><p>“Looks like lane one, also from Ba Sing Se, is now in contention for third. Katara keeps moving ahead, and boy is she fierce! Get ready, because we’re about to see her sprint for the final 100. As she enters the last two laps of the pool, she’s increasing her stroke rate and trying to push even further. You can see that there is no hope now for Omashu. Haha, that’s my sister we’re seeing dominate the competition!” He pumped a fist in the air, giddy with excitement.</p><p>As Katara flipped around for the final time and entered the last fifty meter stretch of the race, her resolve only increased. The 800 meter race was the longest event for freestyle, and it was a test of endurance as well as sprinting and technique. Her head rose slightly every few strokes, but she hardly seemed to need to breathe, even. Zuko began to wonder if she was perhaps part fish.</p><p>In his chest a large swell of satisfaction rose as Katara gave the last kicks, grabbed the edge of the pool, and raised her head out of the water to watch her competitors come bolting in after.</p><p>“And... she’s done it! Yes, Katara for the win! Omashu’s lane five has come in second, our lane one in third, with Omashu again for fourth. Let’s give it up, everybody, for a great race!”</p><p>The stands were filled with applause on both sides of the pool, as Omashu’s supporters could appreciate a great swimmer even if she had beaten them. Aang cheered with all his might, and Katara seemed to hear as she scanned the crowd. She gave a small wave in their direction, and although she tried to be a good sport next to the other swimmers, she couldn’t hide a grin of pure delight.</p><p>Zuko thought it was terribly cute, then began panicking because, where had that come from? He shoved the worrisome lapse aside, and continued to clap with the rest of the crowd. The remainder of the meet passed by quickly, but he enjoyed the relays, where Omashu came in first for the men’s race but narrowly came in second for the women’s. Katara’s bit had been in the middle, but she had made up for a slow start, and he noticed that whenever she wasn’t swimming, she was cheering on her teammates. By the end Zuko was starting to get a sense of how the points were tallied, but as Ba Sing Se’s stands erupted in cheers, he found that the <em>main </em>point was that they had won.</p><p> </p><p>When the swimmers had finished their celebrations and Katara returned to the Gang, she was given a hero’s welcome. They all gathered around and each congratulated her in their own way, Aang and Suki with a big hug while trying to avoid the pool water, Sokka with a hearty pat on the back, and Toph with a fist bump. Zuko hung around the fringes of their circle, unsure of what he was supposed to do.</p><p>“Hey, that was really cool out there,” he said, and managed a strained smile.</p><p>And if Katara still wasn’t as warm with him as she clearly was with the rest of the group, at least she wasn’t outright shunning him. At the same time she was still decidedly unimpressed, giving only a short nod in response before returning to Aang’s excited chattering.</p><p>Meanwhile, Sokka stepped back and stood next to Zuko, looking fondly at his sister. “She’s really put a lot of work into the team, you know. Just a year ago the women’s team was half this size and not very competitive, but she’s really helped turn things around.”</p><p>This made sense to Zuko, who didn’t recall seeing much about women’s swimming in the school newspapers. “Was she always a swimmer?” he asked.</p><p>Sokka chuckled. “You bet. We grew up next to the ocean, and I’m not ashamed to say that she’s always been a better swimmer than me. Our mother used to teach her, before…” he trailed off.</p><p>They stood in silence for a moment.</p><p>“I’m really sorry about that, man,” Zuko finally said, remembering what Katara had told him all those months ago.</p><p>“Yeah… yeah.” Sokka said. He rubbed his hands together and pulled himself out of whatever memories he had been swept away by. “Well, Zuko, I gotta say, so far you don’t seem like a completely terrible person. Keep it up!”</p><p>Before Zuko could figure out if that was an insult or a compliment, Sokka stepped back into the group huddle.</p><p>Well, that was… progress? He was about to walk away and return to his dorm for some much needed time alone, when Aang called out to him.</p><p>“Hey, Zuko! We’ll go over to The Jasmine Dragon on Monday to study, and you can join whenever your shift is over. Katara can text you to coordinate. And uh, welcome to the team!”</p><p>With a slight wave, Zuko turned and headed out of the pool. It wasn’t until he was safely outside and skating back to his room that he finally allowed himself a sigh of relief, and without even realizing it, a smile, small but real.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter involved a bit more research than normal... much like Zuko I know very little about competitive swimming, so that's partly why this ended up being in his POV! Katara's swimming is modeled after the amazing Katie Ledecky :)</p><p>Would love to hear your thoughts!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Some Like It Hot</h2></a>
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    <p>The tea shop was quiet on Monday afternoons, just the way Katara liked it. She hummed along with the lo-fi music serenading her eardrums, sketching out hexagons connected by zigzagging lines transforming into hexagons connected by slightly different lines. It was the puzzle aspect of organic chemistry reactions that she enjoyed the most, although figuring them out the first time had made her head hurt. It had been rough in the beginnings, but now she felt oddly empowered by the ability to understand the formation of carboxylic acids and predict resonance structures.</p><p>Across the table Toph and Sokka were having an increasingly heated conversation about some mixed martial arts fighters they were into, but Katara’s noise cancelling headphones left her happily unaware of the developing situation. They had been gifted to her by her dad after high school graduation, and were now one of her most treasured possessions –no surprise considering the company she kept.</p><p>To her right Aang was flipping through his Intro to Macroeconomics notes, looking more and more flustered with each page. Unfortunately Katara couldn’t help with this one, as the equations looked just as much like gibberish to her as they clearly did to her friend.</p><p>
  <em>That’s where Zuko comes in, I guess…</em>
</p><p>She still wasn’t sold on his nice guy act. The rest of the group seemed to be going along with it, and she had noticed Sokka being friendly with him during the swim meet. But despite his sincere outward appearance, her internal inklings of doubt remained. Katara followed the reasoning that it was better to keep her enemies close though, so she had reluctantly agreed to join their group trip to The Jasmine Dragon. Besides, she missed seeing Iroh and his tea.</p><p>And Iroh had been glad to see her too, much to her gratification. He had even whispered that she was becoming one of his favorite customers, and although from anyone else she would dismiss it as a marketing tactic, she believed it from him. It still brought a smile to her face when she remembered. In fact, on this day Katara was in quite a good mood. She was nursing a cup of jasmine tea, blowing across the top between sips to cool it down. The swim meet had gone well, and she had pushed herself to a new personal record in the 800 meter event. The rush of adrenaline from swimming and especially during competitions, was one of the best feelings in the world. It had been a long journey to her current level, and Katara chuckled when she thought back on how she had started. Now though, she was reveling in seeing how far her abilities could go.</p><p>Of course, Sokka was the one to break her concentration. “Katara, help me out here!” he yelled, narrowing his eyes at Toph. “Please tell this delusional maniac that there’s <em>no way </em>that the <em>Boulder, </em>king of all wrestlers, would ever lose to the Big Bad Hippo. I mean, have you seen that guy’s muscles?”</p><p>Toph thumped a fist onto the table, rattling their cups and drawing the attention of their well-behaved fellow patrons. “Yeah, and who’s the <em>actual </em>MMA champion here, the one who’s fought against both of those guys and <em>won?? </em>I think I know a little more than you about who would beat who.” When no reply came, she gave a satisfied smirk. “That’s what I thought, Snoozles.”</p><p>Sokka humphed and turned back to his sketchbook, where he was practicing for Art Studio by honing his teacup drawing skills. He muttered something about “some people who think they know everything,” but was abruptly cut off with a well placed elbow to his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, although Toph didn’t look it she really <em>was </em>a renowned MMA fighter, and had been even before coming to the University. Not being able to see her opponents had never stopped The Blind Bandit from taking them down, thanks to her sharp hearing and remarkable ability to sense their movements through vibrations in the floor. Sokka, Katara, and Aang had been witness to the full devastation of her fighting style back in the Fall semester, and Aang had been so impressed that he immediately asked her to join their study group. After some convincing she had agreed, and the rest was history.</p><p>Toph could do many more things than the average human, but there were accommodations that had to be made when it came to academics. Katara and the Gang tried to help in any way she could, even convincing the dean to let Toph into one of Ba Sing Se’s non visually impaired specific classes. Toph had grown up learning and reading through braille so she could handle the written material, and Ba Sing Se University had a supportive community for their disabled students. She had instantly gravitated towards the geosciences, where she could use her other senses to solve the same problems that her sighted classmates did. Plus, the rocks were just plain <em>cool. </em></p><p>Watching her friend, for all intents and purposes, playing with rocks, Katara was reminded of how excited they had all been when Toph got into the class. This semester they all had at least one class they actually cared about, and were willing to put time into. All four friends gradually settled into their studying routines, and for a whole hour all was peaceful.</p><p>When Katara finally arose from the depths of her pset-focused state, she realized with a start that Zuko was walking towards their table, still dressed in the shop uniform but with a satchel slung over his shoulder instead of an apron. Noticing her glance he gave a quick wave, which she ignored. Undaunted, he continued and came to halt at their table. She was half tempted to throw her second cup at him just to see his expression, but that would have been a waste of perfectly good tea.</p><p>“Hey guys,” Zuko said, reaching into his bag and pulling out the thickest textbook Katara had ever seen. If Aang’s slack-jawed expression was anything to go by, he was suddenly realizing the enormity of what he had taken on.</p><p>“Um…that’s not the textbook for our class,” he said with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“No, it’s not,” Zuko agreed. “But if you truly want to master the art of economics, you’re going to have to learn from the source, and this is the mother of all econ textbooks. You’re with Professor Jeong Jeong, right?”</p><p>Aang gulped and nodded.</p><p>“Yup. He’s a hard-ass, but one of the best.” Zuko gestured to the adjacent booth. “Well, no time to waste! Come on, let’s get started. I could probably use a refresher myself…”</p><p>With one last pleading look at Katara, Aang gathered his notes and followed Zuko to the table.</p><p> </p><p>Two and a half hours later, even Katara was starting to get restless. She had finished her orgo pset, sent out reminders to the swim team about next morning’s practice, posted in the World Politics forums about the final chapter of Ruko’s autobiography, and was almost done with her readings for both Marine Ecology and The Biology of Whales. Katara had just finished reading about their feeding habits, and when she learned that they could move their tongues all the way back to their bellies when swallowing, and she knew that nothing would ever been the same again. Looking at the diagram of the long tongue folded under itself made her brain very confused.</p><p>Meanwhile, Toph had either finished her work or decided not to do any more, because she was now deep in conversation with Iroh, reminiscing about the first time they had met. Sokka was, predictably, taking a nap.</p><p>But Aang and Zuko were still working, hunched together and eagerly discussing some particularly challenging problem, and she didn’t want to leave until they were finished. To be honest, she was surprised at how quickly Aang had accepted him in, and how Sokka and Toph seemed to be chill with it. Was she the only one that still remembered how he had treated them in the past? Another thought crept into her head as well.</p><p>
  <em>Is it time to release the past, and look to the new?</em>
</p><p>She still wasn’t sure. But here, at last, the two studying companions returned with faces glowing.</p><p>“We figured it out!” Aang beamed at her and displayed half a dozen pages of scribbled notes. “See?” He pointed to one particularly indistinguishable set of equations. “Right here!”</p><p>Katara stared blankly at the paper, but Aang didn’t seem to notice. Even Zuko showed a trace of excitement.</p><p>“We’ll make an econ student of him yet,” he said. “This is some really top-notch work, Aang. You should be proud.”</p><p>Sensing the disturbance, Sokka began to wake up and Toph returned to their table.</p><p>“So are you guys <em>finally</em> done?” she asked. “Because I’ve been waiting here for like, forever. Don’t get me wrong, I loved catching up with Iroh, but I think it’s time we head out.”</p><p>Zuko tilted his head quizzically  “Wait, you know my uncle?”</p><p>Toph replied with a mysterious smile, one that hinted at many hidden secrets. “Oh, we may have met once before. We had some tea together, and talked about <em>you.</em>” She poked him in the chest. “Don’t worry, nothing bad. He really cares, ya know.”</p><p>She couldn’t see Zuko’s expression, but after this display of almost-emotion she would have staunchly ignored it. Instead, she turned and clapped her hands in front of Sokka’s ear.</p><p>His resulting startled yelp made Katara laugh. “I guess Toph’s right. It’s about time for us to head back.” She looked at Aang. “I’m glad you were able to figure out… whatever that was.”</p><p>Aang flashed her a thumbs up, and started to pack away his things. The rest of the Gang followed suit and within a few minutes they had everything sorted out, and the dishes returned to the counter. The events of last semester meant they had plenty of experience with packing up <em>fast</em>.</p><p>As they were heading to the door, Zuko blurted out an invitation.</p><p>“So, I have a fire spinning performance this Friday, if anyone wants to come. It’s at the Stone Amphitheatre, around 8 pm or after the sun sets. There’s a lot of cool stuff, so you guys should check it out!”</p><p>Sokka paused, his interest piqued. “Fire spinning? Is that the thing where you light stuff on fire and dance with it?”</p><p>Zuko pleasantly surprised that someone had recognized it. “Something like that. There’s a lot of ways to fire spin, so some people dance and others are more martial arts focused.”</p><p>“Huh,” Aang said. “That sounds pretty cool, actually. But what do you spin <em>with?</em>”</p><p>“Oh, so many different props! There’s fans, staffs, sometimes a flaming sword, and some people do fire breathing. I do rope dart.” Something in Zuko’s eyes lit up as he talked about spinning.</p><p>Katara thought it was maybe the tiniest bit cute. But before she could fully process the horror of that thought, Zuko addressed her directly with the hint of a smirk.</p><p>“I can text you to coordinate.”</p><p><em>Did he just wink at me? Where did that come from?</em> Katara felt a blush begin to rise on her cheeks, so before anyone could notice she turned and hightailed it out of the shop. </p><p> </p><p>“And now, to begin the show we have the amazing Ty Lee, master of the flaming double fan!” The presenter gave a grand flourish, and a slender performer with a long ponytail entered the stage to cheers and applause. She gave a deep bow, and a tech assistant set her fans on fire. Their shape was that of a normal fan, but the supports were metal and there was no cloth to cover them. Five flames danced at the edges of each fan, with one coming from the top of each metal rod.</p><p>There was a hush from the crowd as she settled into her starting position, fans facing the ground and her eyes cast down. The only source of light came from the flames, and the fabric of the dark night seemed to ripple along with them. Then the music’s first upbeat chords began to play, and Ty Lee began to dance.</p><p>Katara was entranced. She had never seen anything like this before! Fire spinning was niche to a certain subset of the Fire House students, not her usual crowd. Now, as fan’s flames swirled through the dark night, lighting up flashes of their holder’s face and body, Katara was mesmerized. Not to mention that Ty Lee was an incredible gymnast. When she put down one fan to cartwheel across the stage, the audience audibly gasped. And when she went into a single handed handstand, there was immediate applause. After a few final spins Ty Lee gave one last curtsey, and the crowd went wild.</p><p>The three members of the Gang were cheering with the loudest of them. Toph had decided to sit this one out on account of not being able to see the performance, but Katara, Sokka, and Aang were sitting shoulder to shoulder on a row of stone steps. The steps wrapped in a semicircle facing the stage, which was really just an empty patch of flat stone, and small trees were potted at various points to provide shade during the day. This wasn’t an area that the Gang frequently visited, being on the opposite side of campus from their dorms, but they had made it over without getting lost thanks to Aang’s trusty sense of direction. Now, they all sat slack-jawed, giving each other inquiring glances as if to say –did that really just happen?</p><p>“How on earth did she do that?” Sokka asked, waving his arms in awe and almost smacking one of their fellow attendees.</p><p>“I was so scared that she would set her clothes on fire!” Katara added, her eyes wide.</p><p>Aang was wondering why he had never attended one of these performances in the past. “Guys, that was awesome! I can’t wait to see what comes next!”</p><p>When the next performer rolled out with a long staff lit up at each end, Katara knew that they wouldn’t be disappointed. She didn’t catch his name, but he was incredible, spinning the staff in wide circles from behind his back to up over his head, then down again. The movements were as fluid as the tai chi that she practiced, but completely unlike anything she had ever done. At one slower section of the song he began to roll the staff back and forth along his forearms, bringing first one hand out and then the other. Katara had no idea how it didn’t fall off –something about momentum, perhaps –but she had never understood physics. Despite her initial trepidations at attending one of <em>Zuko’s </em>events, and even worse one filled with Fire House students, she found herself almost giddy with the excitement of discovering something amazing and new.</p><p>“Hey, that’s the same girl as before!” Sokka exclaimed as the newest arrivals entered the stage. There was Ty Lee, carrying her fans as before, but she was also joined by another girl, with long and smooth dark hair. The presenter announced them as “Ty Lee and Mai, performing to Mai’s original composition ‘Hate You Less’. Let’s give it up for this fiery duo!”</p><p>This time, Ty Lee bowed not to the audience but to Mai at the beginning of their performance, and as the heavy metal chords began to play, the two moved in perfect unison. Mai was spinning with something called poi, which consisted of two short ropes a few feet long, each with a flaming ball as a weight at the ends. She grasped one rope in each hand, and by some magic wove them through each other in the air, creating overlapping wheels of fire but never getting them tangled up. Meanwhile Ty Lee showed a more aggressive side to her dancing, with sharp movements that even put out a few of her flames. An assistant relit them in the middle of the performance, but as a pair they never missed a beat.   </p><p>Katara was amazed at the combination of spontaneity and practiced movements. After all, the performers could never tell what the fire would do at any given time, but each dance had to be perfectly coordinated to maintain safety. Through the next several acts she saw a few mistakes, a dropped prop or a puffed out fire every now and then, but if anything the crowd cheered even louder when this happened to signal their support. She marveled as one girl spun a delicate stick that seemed to float in the air, the next student threw a double headed rope in the air, and another wielded the promised flaming sword. From her distance she couldn’t feel the heat, but the light flickered over her face, and she felt the heady mix of excitement in the air.</p><p>All too soon, they reached the final performance of the night. With a start, Katara realized that they hadn’t seen Zuko perform yet. Was he the closing act?</p><p>“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our last performer,” the presenter said from his place by the stage. “He’s been with us for four years, and this will be his last, first, performance of the semester. If you’ve come to our shows you probably know him by now… spinning rope dart for you tonight, please give a warm welcome to our very own Prince Zuko!”</p><p>The Gang exchanged looks. <em>Prince </em>Zuko? Had he really chosen that as his stage name?</p><p>When Zuko stepped out from the sidelines, though, Katara suddenly had much bigger questions to worry about.</p><p>
  <em>He’s… not wearing a shirt? He’s shirtless?? Man, I did not sign up for this…</em>
</p><p>Zuko was indeed shirtless, and as he walked to the center of the stage, swinging a length of rope from one hand, she got a good look at his toned torso in one second intervals. It was enough. As if she hadn’t already been secretly anticipating this performance, Katara found herself suddenly very excited to watch his spinning.</p><p>Sokka let out a low whistle. “Man, if I wasn’t already dating Suki…”</p><p>Katara pretended not to know what he was talking about, and resettled herself on the steps, accidentally knocking over her half-knitted scarf in the process. She had brought it in case the show was boring but had then cast it aside with alarming alacrity. Normally Katara would have rushed to save her cherished scarf, but in this instance she decided to leave it be as the first beats of his music resounded through the air and Zuko began to end the show.</p><p>He started slow, swinging the dart from side to side, and Katara’s eyes followed the flame as it swung back and forth, back and forth. She didn’t know how long this section lasted, but her eyes clung to every movement, unable to look away. Then the beat dropped, and everything changed. Zuko shot the rope out from one hand, sending it arching like a comet through the dark night. Katara realized that the full length of the rope was several meters, but he could draw it back just as quickly to just a few feet. As the tempo increased Zuko began to spin and perform more complex movements, letting the rope wrap around an arm or a leg for an instant, before thrusting it in a new unpredictable direction. The flaming path left dazzling impressions on her eyelids, and alternated between long swirls of light and sharp pinpricks, hitting an unseen point before disappearing back into his hands. He moved with strength and grace, even incorporating elements of what Katara recognized as kung fu. She found it almost reasonable that he was called a prince.</p><p>As the song climbed to its climax, Zuko began to spin the rope in flowering circles, letting it wrap around his neck once, twice, then wheeling his body to throw it off into another arc. He spun faster and faster, until all Katara could see was the light, rocketing from one to the next. She started to clap, and dimly noted that others around her joined in. She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until he began to slow his movements, letting the rope wind itself down. He still had a few tricks up his metaphorical sleeves, of course, and Katara felt her heart jump with each one.</p><p>And then, it was the end. Zuko gave his final flourishes and bowed low to thunderous applause. All the performers came together for one final fire breathing act, and then one last bow. Each performance had only lasted a few minutes, but the night had fully settled. Now lights were cast onto the performers, who were grinning and waving to their friends in the audience, if they could see them.</p><p>Once the presenter had said his goodbyes and began distributing flyers to the first years, Sokka bounded down to meet Zuko, with Katara and Aang in tow. Cheers of “Stay flaming!” peppered through the crowd, and the performers sat off to the side checking their props. They were all buzzing from the show, audience members and performers alike.</p><p>“Bro, you <em>have </em>to show me how you did that stuff!” Sokka said once they had located the familiar messy hair.</p><p>Katara noted with relief that he was now fully clothed, but for some reason his pleased grin also made her stomach flutter.</p><p>“Yeah, sure! I was planning to get some practice in tomorrow, if you want to stop by.”</p><p>Zuko and Sokka exchanged numbers while Aang expressed his excitement in rapid sentences, recounting each performance in as much detail as he could muster.</p><p>In the midst of all this, there was a moment when Katara and Zuko both glanced up, made eye contact, and held it. She didn’t say anything, and neither did he. But despite herself she smiled at him, for the first time they had known each other. She registered his instant of surprise, and how his lips curved up in response. And it was enough.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow, a full on fire spinning performance! The first sighting of Mai, Ty Lee and The Blind Bandit! Zuko shirtless!</p><p>This chapter was fun to write:)</p><p>I've always wanted to learn fire spinning but I haven't had a chance yet, so I thought the next best thing would be to write about it. Hope you guys are all doing well with school/work/whatever you're doing, and enjoyed reading! I know school is kinda kicking my ass right now, so remember to take care of yourselves!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Peppermint</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and the four members of the Gang were arrayed in various positions across Katara’s room. It was her turn to host, which usually ended up being better for everyone involved since her room was the neatest. Everyone had their own designated position, with Katara on her bed, Toph on the rug, Aang at the desk to keep him focused, and Sokka… well, Sokka just sat wherever he wanted.</p><p>As this last member pulled out his phone <em>again </em>to check for text messages from a certain someone, then excitedly chattered to Toph about the response, Katara rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that hour. Despite her exceedingly comfortable position on her bed –on top of the blankets of course, she would never even <em>think </em>about getting the sheets dirty –she roused herself to find her headphones. For goodness sakes, when was her brother going to shut up about Zuko?</p><p>By now, they knew all about the history behind his princely stage name –“apparently when he first started with the fire spinners, he was just so <em>regal</em>! It was a joke at first, but then he earned it.” They knew what he said in response to the story of Sokka’s first girlfriend, who left him to pursue her dreams of being an astronaut –“that’s rough, buddy.” And they knew how Sokka was a “natural rope dartist,” according to the one and only Zuko. Katara was pretty much over it.</p><p>Just as she retrieved her headphones and began clambering back onto her bed, Katara felt a buzz in her pocket. That was strange, since most of the people she regularly texted were already sitting in her room, although that didn’t stop them from sending random messages to the groupchat. She unlocked her phone.</p><p>
  <em>Hey, there’s a new app for The Jasmine Dragon</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It lets you sign up for rewards and stuff if you’re a regular customer, so I thought you guys might be interested!</em>
</p><p><em><span class="u">Download link</span></em>:<em> Jasmine Dragon Tea</em></p><p>Speak of the devil. Katara hesitated for a moment before clicking the link, hoping that it wouldn’t give her phone a virus or something malicious. She breathed a sigh of relief when the link took her to the App Store, and the app looked both legitimate and thoughtfully designed. Interesting.</p><p>“Hey Sokka, have you seen this?” She shoved her phone screen at her brother, breaking off his conversation with Toph, who gave her a grateful thumbs up when his back was turned.</p><p>Sokka peered at her phone, his brows furrowed. “Wait, where did you find this?”</p><p>“Zuko sent it to me,” Katara said, shrugging.</p><p>“What?” He adopted a heartbroken expression. “He sent it to <em>you, </em>and not to <em>me</em>? We will have words about this!” Sokka turned back to his own phone and furiously began typing.</p><p>Well, that answered her question. Katara patted him on the head as a comforting gesture and retreated back into the comfort of her bed. As her computer searched for a Bluetooth connection to “Katara’s Headphones And Don’t You Dare Touch Them,” she overheard Aang speak up.</p><p>“So… you know you already have a girlfriend, right?”</p><p>“Yes, and I am very devoted to her. I just enjoy making new friends, unlike <em>some </em>people!”</p><p>Katara rolled her eyes for the umpteenth and first time, settled her headphones over her ears, and flipped open her Biology of Whales textbook. But before beginning the next chapter on the eating habits of whales, she also downloaded and signed into the app.</p><p> </p><p>Monday was ridiculous, and Katara could hardly find a free moment for anything other than swimming and schoolwork. Monday night was also when the Ba Sing Se Wushu Team held practices, and since she had skipped the previous week she felt obligated to go. She was getting a lot better at the practice forms –both she and Sokka had taken some lessons as kids, but those had ended once their mother passed away. She had always been the one to send them to practice, and afterwards it just hadn’t felt right. But now Katara was re-immersing herself in the sport as a way to remember her mom, and found that she really enjoyed the combination of athletic and graceful movements. And she especially loved using the swords –straight sword in particular.</p><p>On Tuesday, Katara decided that she deserved a break, and so after her afternoon of World Politics she hustled through the Lower Circle town and over to The Jasmine Dragon. As she entered, she let the trilling of the wind chime and the warm, fragrant air wash over her. It was good to be back.</p><p>She walked over to a beaming Iroh, who perfectly mirrored his expression in the new advertisement for their rewards app.</p><p>“I heard from my nephew that you enrolled in our loyalty program! Trust me, you won’t regret it. For our new member promotion, you only purchase ten cups of tea before you get one on the house. For you, it should be no trouble at all!”</p><p>Katara narrowed her eyes at him in mock suspicion. “Iroh, what exactly are you trying to say?”</p><p>He laughed heartily, a booming sound that always lifted her spirits. “Young lady, all I’m saying is that you already understand one of the fundamentals to a good life.” He leaned in, as if telling her a secret. “A well-brewed cup of tea rarely fails to make <em>anyone </em>feel better. It even works for my nephew, and you already know how he can be!”</p><p>She nodded in agreement, maintaining a serious expression until she couldn’t hold in her own laughter. Of course Iroh had to join in, and after that it took some time before they could settle down again. Katara wiped away a tear, wondering where that sudden burst had come from. The previous day had been stressful, and it felt so good to finally relax.</p><p>“Why don’t you give me a recommendation today?” she asked Iroh. “I’m tired of making decisions, so I’ll just go with whatever you choose.”</p><p>Winking, he punched an order into the computer. “I have just the right thing. Let’s see if you can guess what the flavor is. By the way, this is your first order of the ten!”</p><p>Within seconds of taking the first sip, Katara knew what tea Iroh had chosen for her. She leaned back into the chair, closing her eyes and letting the refreshing taste of peppermint sink into her taste buds. It was, in fact, just what she had needed.</p><p><em>How does he always just </em>know<em>? Perhaps some mysteries are beyond us…</em></p><p>She kept her eyes closed for several minutes, enjoying the chance to not think about anything. If an errant thought entered her head, some worry about her next paper or an upcoming quiz, she brushed it aside with the nonchalance of a horse batting away flies with its tail. Katara felt the weight of her body, the pleasant taste on her tongue, the slight fuzziness of her head. She took a deep breath, and another. When her mind finally quieted down, she gently raised her eyelids, and became present again in the hum of the tea shop.</p><p>On this particular afternoon she <em>wasn’t </em>going to do homework, which was practically revolutionary. She was going to read a book for fun, something that hadn’t happened since the semester started. Katara pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged in her chair and opened up the latest novel in her favorite fantasy series. Now, between sips of peppermint, she immersed herself in a story where humans could control the four elements, and a group of friends was on a mission to save the world. Katara smiled. Reading through their exploits, she couldn’t help but fancy that if <em>she </em>was in the universe, she would have the power of hydrokinesis.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko approached just as she was finishing the lavender pastry that she had tried to resist but couldn’t, and judging by his uniform he was still on shift. He nodded in greeting, and gestured towards her recently emptied plate.</p><p>“Mind if I take that for you?” he asked politely.</p><p>Katara fought the sudden urge to blush. Gah, why was this happening again? She hastily thrust the cup onto his tray, and snapped her hands back under the table.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said.</p><p>An awkward pause ensued, where both were about to say something, but didn’t quite know what to say. Zuko turned to leave, but stopped mid-spin when Katara led with a confident, “Um…”</p><p>He cocked his head, waiting.</p><p>“That was pretty cool, last Friday. I enjoyed the show,” she said, trying to slow her words down. She tended to talk at warp speed when nervous.</p><p>Zuko gave a relieved smile. “That’s great to hear! I’m glad.” He looked down at the tray of dirty teacups, then back up at her. “Listen, I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you. My shift ends in another thirty minutes, will you still be here?”</p><p>“Oh,” Katara stammered. “Um, I guess… I can be? I just started a new chapter, so I don’t mind staying for a while longer.” She held up her book for emphasis, to show that she already had important business to take care of and was definitely not just staying for him. She moved to set it back down, but started when Zuko suddenly brought his face closer and examined the cover.</p><p>“Hey, I love that series! I started reading it when I was in high school, and each book just gets better and better.”</p><p>“What, no way!” Katara said, her face lighting up. “I’ve never been able to convince any of my friends to get into it! Who’s your favorite character?”</p><p>Zuko didn’t miss a beat. “Definitely Okuz, the disgraced prince who goes on a long journey of self-discovery and redemption to figure out what truly matters in life. Strange name aside, I’ve always felt strangely connected to him.”</p><p>Katara nodded, now examining her waiter through the eyes of a long-time book fan. “Yeah, I can see that,” she said. “You guys kind of have a similar vibe. Okuz is cooler though, since he can actually control fire…”</p><p>Rather than rising to the jibe, Zuko only smirked. “Maybe, but I have the second-best thing. You know, this isn’t actually what I was planning to talk with you about, but I have a lot more thoughts about Gnaa and Aratak’s love story.” He looked over his shoulder at a beckoning patron. “I gotta go, but I’ll be back in a bit!” Waving his free hand, he speed-walked over to a middle aged lady who seemed very upset with something related to her cream puffs.</p><p>Blinking a few times after that unexpected conversation, Katara turned back to her book. Half an hour, he said? She could <em>definitely</em> keep reading this story for another half hour.</p><p> </p><p>This time, she didn’t even notice Zuko until he knocked on the table, startling her.</p><p>“Anyone home?” he asked, earning himself one of Katara’s trademark arched brows.</p><p>“Sit,” she said, barely resurfacing from the book long enough to nod at the seat opposite her. “I’m almost done with this chapter, just give me another five minutes.” She then proceeded to thoroughly ignore him as she finished the last few pages.</p><p>“Aw, it ends with a cliffhanger!” Katara sighed and set the book down. For a split second she considered just diving into the next chapter and telling Zuko to wait again, but then decided that would be rude. She looked up at the boy across from her, who was leaning back in his chair and gazing at her with a glimmer of amusement. The shop was beginning to empty, since closing time was at six thirty and it was already a quarter past five. Other than her and Zuko, only Iroh and a few other patrons were left.</p><p>“They really do like their cliffhangers, don’t they?” He swung his body forward, leaning into the table. “Hey, can I borrow that book when you’re done? I promise I’ll take good care of it.” He smiled confidently at her and even Katara, who was normally very particular about who she lent books to, couldn’t quite say no.</p><p>“I’ll think about it,” she replied. It wouldn’t do to give in too easily –after all, just a few months ago she would have dismissed any request of his without a second thought.</p><p>Perhaps Zuko sensed the thread of her thoughts, or the reason behind her clouded brow. His expression turned serious. “Fair enough. Listen, the reason I wanted to talk to you was that I wanted –no, I <em>want, </em>to apologize. In person this time.” He paused as they both remembered the note on the napkin, then shouldered on. “I know we got off on the wrong foot back when we first met, and I’m sorry about that. I really meant it when I said I’m trying to change, and… maybe your friends are beginning to see that. But I want to know if <em>you</em> can forgive me, or how I can make that happen –because I care what you think.” He said the last words all at once, then pressed his mouth into a hard line.</p><p><em>Well, I guess this is it then. Forgiving Zuko, take two. </em>She stared at him unblinking for several tense moments, and took her time before replying. The flutters in her stomach were gone, replaced by a cold steel that rang through in her answer.</p><p>“My friends trust you now because they never forgave you before and then immediately regretted it. I can’t say the same.” As she said it, Katara realized that she had laid out the core of the issue in a way she had never directly verbalized before. She watched as Zuko took in the weight of her words. They might have been harsh, but there was a hurt inside of her that hadn’t yet had a chance to heal and it was calling out to her now.</p><p>“Okay.” Zuko gripped the table, his knuckles turning white. “That’s fair. I understand why you feel that way, and I know I was in the wrong back then. I was so confused… but I want to make things right, if I can.”</p><p>Katara was glad now that the shop was almost empty, and she had picked her favorite corner booth away from the main cluster of tables. Although she had sensed that Zuko wanted to talk about something more serious, she had <em>not</em> been prepared for this conversation. But Katara was never one to run away from a conflict, and so she stayed calmly sitting despite the pit in her stomach.</p><p>“Listen, I was talking to Sokka the other day, and somehow the subject of your mother came up.”</p><p>“What?” She jerked her head back. Of all the things to bring up… “What did he tell you?”</p><p>“Not much,” Zuko hastened to explain. “Just that she was battling cancer for the last few years, and that there was a certain man, an employee of my father’s company, who she was fighting a legal battle with during that time. The head of the new pipeline effort in your hometown.” He watched her carefully, knowing that he was treading on sensitive ground.</p><p>“Yon Rha.”</p><p>At the mention of that name, Katara felt the air rush out of her chest, and her throat constrict. Yon Rha was a man who loomed large in her memory, especially since she had only been a child when she had last seen him. They had only met once, and just for a minute before Katara’s mother had whisked her away. But she had hated him even then, as someone who had caused so much worry and stress to her beloved mother.</p><p>“I hope he told you,” she began slowly, staring intently at the cover of her book, “how incredible an environmental activist she was, and how hard she fought to protect our home.”</p><p>Zuko nodded. “He did. He said that she was an amazing woman, and he wishes he had the chance to know her better.”</p><p>“Hm.” She folded her arms tight against her chest. “So why do you bring up Yon Rha?”</p><p>“Well, I had a thought. It might be crazy, I don’t know.” He hesitated, and lowered his voice. “But if you wanted… I could probably find him. All the former high-ranking company officers are still listed in Phoenix Rising’s database, including addresses. If there’s anything you wanted to say to him? We could make that happen.”</p><p>Katara stared at him, wide eyed and feeling as if a wave had just crashed into her. “Are you serious? How do you even have access to that information?”</p><p>“Oh, I have my ways,” Zuko said with a hint of his former playfulness. “Full time student, part time hacker. It comes in handy sometimes.”</p><p>“I thought you were a <em>Business </em>major,” Katara said, confused.</p><p>“Actually, I recently switched to Computer Science with a Business minor. I only started on that track to make my dad happy, but now I’ve decided to pursue what <em>I </em>want. After some, uh, strident encouragement from Uncle. It worked out for him though, since he got someone to design our app out of it.”</p><p>
  <em>Well, I guess he does have a couple of tricks up his sleeve. Who knew?</em>
</p><p>She unfolded her arms and took a deep breath. From the moment he had suggested the idea, she had known what her answer would be.</p><p>“Okay, I’ve made up my mind. Let’s do it.” When it came down to it Katara could be very decisive, and in some ways she had been waiting all her life for this chance. The chance to face her mother’s old nemesis, a thought which terrified her but also stoked a long-dormant fire. “When can we start?”</p><p>“Oh, really?” Now it was Zuko’s turn to be surprised. “You don’t want some time to think about it or anything?”</p><p>“I’ve decided,” Katara repeated, and he took the hint.</p><p>“Okay, well, I still have some homework to finish tonight, but I could test out some things and report back in a week or so. If you want to come into the back, I can show you the setup and give you a sense of what I’ll be doing.”</p><p>Before he had even finished speaking, she was packed up and ready to go. She stood up and waited for him to hurriedly catch up, before following him past the curtain that separated the back of the tea shop from the customer’s side. They went into a break room for employees, which had a large table in the center along with several mismatched chairs. All the remaining waitstaff were finishing up the final orders of the day, so the small but comfortably furnished room was all theirs. While Zuko put away his waiter’s uniform and retrieved his backpack, Katara admired the tea themed art sprinkled across the walls.</p><p>As she walked around the room, a strange feeling came over her. It felt like the pieces of some giant invisible gameboard were beginning to congregate, and the players were starting to shift into position. Aang had heard back from some of the students he had emailed about the Dai Li, and the responses were worrying. It seemed that Ba Sing Se’s campus police had more power than any of them had realized and were growing bolder about exercising it. And now here she was, working with her former enemy to track down a man from her childhood, one who had once held so much power over her family. Where would this new effort take them? She wished she knew, but the only way forward was one step at a time.</p><p>Zuko returned with his laptop and started it up, while Katara looked on over his shoulder. When the lock screen appeared, she couldn’t help releasing a little chuckle.</p><p>He shifted around and raised a questioning eyebrow, but his deadpan expression morphed into a faint blush when Katara stopped giggling and was finally able to ask her question.</p><p>“So, Zuko… why is your computer addressing you as TheBlueSpirit?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Imagine reading a fanfiction with a character reading a book about the series that led to that fanfiction. Wild! I know, I was very clever about the names…<br/>As always, I’d love to know what you thought, and I hope you are all doing well! 😊</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Choice in the Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The highway was dark and empty, illuminated only by the headlights of their beat-up Jeep, on loan from Uncle Iroh. It was a moonless night, and the wind was as sharp as a knife’s edge as it slid in through the open slit of Katara’s window. She gazed fiercely ahead as she drove, fingers tight on the steering wheel and stomach clenched. The steady rushing of the car rolled like waves through her head, and she felt herself slipping into a half-awake, half-asleep state as the road unfolded endlessly. But she pressed on –the long-awaited meeting with Yon Rha was approaching, as fast as they could drive to the town Zuko had tracked down. It had taken a week and a half since their first meeting in the back of the tea shop, but finally all the preparations had been made.</p><p>Earlier that Friday night they had set out with some directions, a change of clothes, and no idea when they would return. Aang and Sokka had come to see them off despite the angry words exchanged between them earlier. She hadn’t parted on the best of terms with her brother, and Aang had been vocal with his concerns about the dangers of vengeance. But she couldn’t think about that now, this was not the time for softness. This was not the time to be weak.</p><p>Her mind traveled down paths darker than the one she was traversing now. For the past few nights, she had dreamt of her mother –how she had looked laying in that hospital bed, body frail but spirit strong. Kya had fought the lung cancer caused at least in part by years of living near oil fields as a child, back before there were such things as air quality control, with every ounce of her being. She knew what the industry could do, and she wanted her town safe from it. But even at the end Yon Rha and his team had never let up. Warnings and death threats had begun showing up at their door the week after she took on the fight against the pipeline, and they had been unrelenting through the long months of her diagnosis and chemotherapy. Katara had been too young to understand back then, but she knew that the letters made her mom upset, and that made her hate them too. And she knew that when the mean looking man came and paid a “business visit” to the hospital, there was malice in his intentions.</p><p>Katara struggled to fight back the tears. <em>I’m not the helpless little girl I was back then. He’ll find that out soon enough. </em> </p><p>In the backseat, Zuko’s alarm rang and he shook himself awake. “Katara,” he said, sitting up and glancing at the dark circles under her eyes. “You’ve been driving for hours. Let me take over, you should get some rest.”</p><p>“No.” Katara squinted her eyes against the weight dragging them downwards. “I’m fine. I have plenty of strength left.”</p><p>Zuko shook his head and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be there in a few hours. Pull over, and let me drive.”</p><p>The Jeep gradually rolled to a halt as Katara conceded defeat against her exhaustion. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out into the fresh air, looking up to the stars twinkling on high above. Her eyes slipped shut for a moment as she stood in the middle of the highway, drinking in the vast emptiness of the world around them. Katara suddenly felt herself very small in a large universe, dazzlingly insignificant.</p><p>She opened her eyes when Zuko arrived, with hair messy from the nap and hands tucked into his bomber jacket. Through half-closed eyelids numbed by hours of staring at the road, she examined him. Katara didn’t know what she was looking for, but she waited as he opened his mouth to speak.</p><p>In the end, he didn’t say a word. But written in his face was a promise and an offer, and she accepted.</p><p>Then she gasped, and pointed at the flash of color in the sky. He whipped around in time to catch the bright orange trail of a comet, which faded into pale green and condensed into a pinprick of light, then disappeared. It had arrived and left within the space of a second.</p><p>They stared at each other in amazement, as if to confirm what they had just seen.</p><p>“Was that… really a comet?” Katara asked, her eyes now wide and glimmering with excitement. “I’ve never seen one before!”</p><p>“It must have been. Nothing else would look like that,” Zuko replied. “Pretty cool, right? A little good luck charm for us –I hope.” He smiled, and she responded in kind.</p><p>As he stepped into the car and began adjusting the sideview mirrors, Katara walked around back curled up in the backseat, which still held the warmth of his body. She hadn’t realized just how exhausted she was, but as she blearily bundled up some thick red fabric for a pillow, Katara found all coherent thoughts escaping her. The last image in her mind before the fog of sleep stole over, was the stare of Yon Rha’s sharp eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The man who had lived in Katara’s memories for so long was at that moment tossing and turning in his own restless sleep. He rarely slept well those days, and when he did manage to stumble his way into the gentle darkness, his dreams were often fitful. He would startle awake in the early morning, but the ghosts of his nightmares always faded before he could see their faces. Then he would sigh, and turn over the pillow, and wait until his heartbeat settled and his eyes closed once more. Yon Rha was a haunted man who wanted nothing more than to forget.</p><p>As the sun rose he dressed, sighed at the graying hair and creased face in the mirror, and went out to tend the vegetable garden, picking out sharp-edged weeds and watering the tomato vines. Like clockwork, his old mother came thumping down the stairs as he was finishing his daily chores in the garden, sticking her head out the door to yell at him about needing more vegetables from the farmer’s market –from the “professionals, not useless amateurs who can’t grow a single tomato that isn’t as hard as a rock!”</p><p>“Yes, mother,” he replied with a bowed head and gritted teeth carefully hidden from her view. As he gathered his basket and began the long walk to the town center, Yon Rha recalled his days working for Phoenix Rising. Back then he had been respected and feared, the commander of his own tightly trained group of lawyers and those who made their own laws. His chest swelled as he thought back to the glory days, which now seemed so long ago. With the dawning of the day the mists of his nighttime worries had dissipated away, leaving a strange emptiness in its wake.</p><p>At the market he chatted with the same farmers he always did, making sure to buy the hardest fruits he could find just to aggravate his mother’s weakening teeth. It was a simple enough errand, done in half an hour. Not enough time away from the house, but it would have to do. He took his leave of the last stand after purchasing a tough-leaved cabbage, and noted the darkening clouds above.</p><p>“Better go on before the rain catches up to us,” the short farmer said, folding gangly arms and thrusting his chin up to the sky. “Don’t want your old mum to worry.”</p><p>Yon Rha, who knew his mother would be nothing short of gleeful to think of her son caught in a rainstorm, nodded to the farmer and rushed away down the dirt path. As he strode forth between overgrown bushes lining the way, he thought he heard a rustling from behind him. Instincts acquired from his days at the company kicked in, and he thrust one hand into the hidden pocket of his jacket. His fingers brushed against cool metal, and he kept his shoulders relaxed as he settled his hand into a comfortable, ready grip.</p><p>Was he just imagining it, or was that a rustle again? Yon Rha slowed his pace, then stopped and pretended to look at the growing clouds. He kept his ears pricked, and there it was! In a flash, he dropped the basket and whipped out his small handgun, pointing it wildly at the bushes. He held his breath, waiting. Were they hiding? If so… with an explosive <em>crack! </em>he fired off a round and watched it tear into the leaves. But other than the sound of his own gunshot, nothing. Then there was a shift in the air, a fat raindrop fell onto his shoulder, and another raised a dark spot in the earth beside his feet.</p><p>“Hm.” He looked warily around one more time, then lowered his gun. Maybe it was nothing. “Better follow that advice before it really starts coming down.”</p><p>Yon Rha turned towards home, and –</p><p>Came face to face with a pair of dark amber eyes mere inches from his own, eyes that gleamed with the wrath of a raging fire. Time slowed and his vision blurred. He gasped and stopped short, his heartbeat escalating as the adrenaline kicked in and he tried to raise the gun. He heard a voice, “We <em>weren’t </em>in the bushes,” –was it coming from that stranger? In the same instant his weapon was wrenched out of his hands, and he found himself suddenly sprawled on the ground as his knees seemed collapsed. Only with their sharp throbbing did he realize that they had been kicked out from under him. With his face inches from the ground, he dimly noted the increasing ferocity of falling rain.</p><p>With a rising panic he scrambled to sit up, then froze as a new face entered his view. It belonged to a small brown-skinned, blue eyed girl dressed in simple clothes, which he took in before centering in on the gun she held steadily in her hands. His gun. Pointed to the narrow space straight between his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>For several seconds, Zuko didn’t understand what had happened. He had seen Yon Rha shoot into the bushes, and in pure fury rushed out to meet the old man. Wondering how he could just fire like that, without even knowing who might be there. Zuko growled something in his rage and prepared to disarm Yon Rha. But before he had the chance, the man was thrown down at his feet, and Katara appeared out of nowhere holding Yon Rha’s gun. Where had she learned to <em>do </em>that? Never had he seen her move with such clear intention and determined power, and if he was being perfectly honest, he was a little frightened.</p><p>Now she was standing as still and imposing as a vengeful goddess, heedless of the thunderstorm lashing out around them. The rain pounded down in torrents and ran rivulets across Zuko’s face, but Katara never blinked. He suddenly remembered a thought from the time he had seen her swim, that water was her element. Zuko wondered half-seriously if she had created the storm out of sheer willpower. Whether it was that or just fate, the angry wetness and dark sky showed everything hidden in Katara’s tightly controlled face.</p><p>“<em>Do you remember me?</em>” She yelled above the whipping wind, glaring at the man in front of her. </p><p>Yon Rha trembled. “No… I don’t think so,” he said, hands raised to shield his face.</p><p>“<em>Think harder!” </em>Now it was Katara’s turn to growl. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled overhead as she stared him down. “Like your life <em>depends </em>on it!”</p><p>Zuko watched as Yon Rha’s eyes widened, and some long-undisturbed memory clicked into place.</p><p>“Oh, I do. I do remember you. You’re the little girl from all those years ago.” He clasped his hands together and lay prostrate in the wet dirt. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did to your family.”</p><p>“And you remember my mom? The woman who died fighting against you, against all the people like you? The woman who lived and died a hero, while you grovel here like a coward?”</p><p>Yon Rha looked up with all the terror of a man afraid for his life. “Please –please, don’t kill me. You can take my mother instead. Please, you deserve your revenge. It’s only fair. Take my mother.” His eyes darted from side to side, and he panted in short ragged breaths.</p><p>Did this man have no shame at all?  Zuko stared at him in disgust, thinking back to his own cherished memories with his mom. And less pleasant ones involving his father. But still, to offer up one’s own family member in exchange for his own life? He almost wanted Katara to shoot right then and there. Almost. But it was her decision to make.</p><p>The rain formed a dense curtain around them, muffling any outside sounds and narrowing the scope of their world. Both Zuko and Yon Rha watched the girl with the gun, knowing that whatever she did next would change their lives –permanently.</p><p>“I’ve always wondered what kind of person could do what you did,” she was speaking without anger now, just pain and sorrow. “What kind of person could be so cruel to people he didn’t even know, who had never done anything to hurt him. Now that I look at you, I understand!”</p><p>“Wait!” Yon Rha pleaded. His eyes were wild, desperate. “If you don’t want my mother, I can give you information! I still have contacts –I know who’s doing the dirty work for Mr. Ozai now.”</p><p>Katara and Zuko exchanged glances. They were thinking the same thing, and he spoke first. “You just offered us up your own mother. How can we trust anything you say?”</p><p>“It’s Long Feng! Him and the Dai Li, they’re going around and making trouble. I don’t have anything to do with it anymore, but that’s what I’ve heard. And Ozai’s daughter, she’s involved with it too. I swear, I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”</p><p>At the mention of his sister, Zuko’s chest tightened. What was Azula up to now? He had known that she had some kind of power over the Dai Li, but to hear it confirmed by this man, of all people… whatever it was, it didn’t bode well for him or his new friends.</p><p>“Long Feng?” Katara asked, frowning. “But he’s a professor! How could he possibly be involved with them?”</p><p>Sensing an opening, Yon Rha began to babble. “Oh yes, you wouldn’t suspect it. I don’t know how he got that power, but you can be sure that he’s been masterminding everything they do. They’re loyal to him, and whoever he works with. But that’s all I know!” With bated breath, he waited to see if it was enough.</p><p>For long moments, the pouring rain and groaning of trees bent by the wind were his only answer. Katara was stoic; in all the time he had been talking, the gun barrel had not moved an inch. She was in control of the situation, and she knew it. But a decision had to be made.</p><p>It happened a millimeter at a time. With a deep breath, Katara lowered the gun and stepped away from Yon Rha, who had been her enemy for so long. Who had pulled a gun on them on instinct, and wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot. Who had offered to let her take the life of his own mother.</p><p>“You’re an empty man,” she told him fiercely. “There’s <em>nothing </em>inside of you –no feeling other than for yourself. It’s not for your information that I spare your life. I hate you with <em>every fiber of my being… </em>but I can’t do it. You’re not worth the bullets.” Without a second glance, she whirled around and strode away.</p><p>In her wake, nothing but the windswept thundering of the storm.</p><p>Zuko lingered for a second, looking at Yon Rha kneeling in the mud, his vegetable strewn across the ground. A pathetic, empty man, just as Katara had said. He let the image sink into his mind. This man had been a subordinate of his father’s, had done whatever Ozai asked without question. The scary thing was, not too long ago Zuko was the same way and would have moved mountains for his father’s approval. Just how narrowly had he dodged Yon Rha’s fate? Just how far had they walked down the same path? Shaking his head, he turned and followed Katara back through the rain.</p><p> </p><p>Later that evening, when they had returned to Ba Sing Se campus, Katara went out to the docks and watched the sunset over the East Lake. She walked all the way to the edge, took off her shoes and socks, and dipped her toes into the cool water. Absentmindedly, she watched the rippling patterns created by the swirling of her feet across the otherwise still surface. The sun cast warm rays onto her face, and she closed her eyes against the glare. For several minutes she sat in perfect quiet. Then, behind her, two sets of feet descended on the dock and a familiar voice called out.</p><p>“Katara! Zuko told me what you did,” Aang said, coming to sit cross-legged next to her on the wooden planks, with the confidant trailing close behind. “It was the right thing. I’m proud of you.”</p><p>She kicked her feet, watching the resulting droplets trail through the sky. “I don’t know… I had him pinned down. And I was so close to pulling that trigger. It’s so strange, I knew in that moment I <em>could </em>have ended his life. But I didn’t. And I don’t know if that makes me weak or strong.” She kept her eyes on the water.</p><p>Aang nodded. “I understand why you feel that way. But choosing forgiveness is always the better path. You wouldn’t have wanted to have his life on your conscience.”</p><p>Katara looked up, grateful for his advice but not entirely sure if she believed it. Aang could be wise beyond his years when he wasn’t busy acting like a child, and she trusted his judgement. And yet, the pain and confusion of everything that had just happened was still fresh in her mind. “I haven’t forgiven him though.” Her brow furrowed. “I’m not sure that I ever will. But…” She twisted around to meet Zuko’s eyes. She thought back to that promise he had made the night they left, right before the comet appeared. An unspoken message of support for whatever decision she made, without judgement and without exception.</p><p>“I <em>am</em> ready to forgive you.” She took his warm hands in hers, and held it.  </p><p>A small smile stole across Zuko’s face. He still looked haggard from doing most of the driving on the way back, but seemed to relax into her token of friendship. When Aang excused himself, saying he had some work to finish up, Zuko volunteered to stay and keep her company if she wanted it.</p><p>And Katara, marveling at herself for saying the words out loud, accepted.</p><p>And so they watched the last of the sun setting together, admired its crisp reflections onto the lake and the way it illuminated soft clouds. They didn’t talk much, which suited Katara just fine. She was content to just experience her world in that moment, without needing to make any decisions or any conversation. For the second time in as many days, they gazed at a celestial body on its travels through the endless sky, coming into its full glory and then slipping away beneath the treetops –almost too bright to look at, but too beautiful not to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright y’all, this was an intense chapter! As you can probably tell, I rewatched “The Southern Raiders” before writing this, and… it just does so many things perfectly. It’s such an important episode for Katara, and I love that we get to see Zuko’s reaction to her being a total badass.<br/>The comet that Zuko and Katara see in this chapter is actually inspired by the first one I ever saw –the night before I’m posting this. It was so exciting!<br/>Anyways, I’d love to know what you thought of this chapter 😊 As always: take care, everyone.<br/>____________________________________________________________________________________<br/>Edit:<br/>On a more serious note: The water tribes of ATLA are inspired in part by the Inuit people, one of the many groups of native/Indigenous peoples around the world. Within America, the country I live in (as a non-Native), Indigenous women have been at the forefront of many battles against companies trying to build oil pipelines on their ancestral and often sacred land. For instance, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was among the first to fight back against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016, and founded the Sacred Stone Camp in April of that year.<br/>However, as Indigenous People’s Day approaches, it is also important to remember how Indigenous people have been treated in the US, Canada, and around the world. Indigenous women especially have had violence perpetrated against them for centuries, and those who take an active stand against powerful forces of white supremacy are no exception. In this fanfic I left the story of Kya less violent in its conclusion, but for thousands of women both in the past and living today, violence is an everyday reality. And I think it’s essential to acknowledge that, and I encourage you all to learn more about this and why we shouldn’t be celebrating Columbus (an active perpetrator of mass genocide), but rather the vast and diverse groups of people who have been living and stewarding their own land for generations.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Aftermath</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That night, Katara found herself unable to fall asleep. She had already lain in bed for what seemed like several hours, with an eye mask to firmly block out any stray light from the hallway and soothing music playing from her phone. But as soon as she began to settle into a deeper rhythm of breathing or let the ambient notes lull her into unconsciousness, a jolt would run through her body. She would see Yon Rha in the rain, stringy gray hair plastered to his face as he knelt in the mud. The image was so real she could almost feel the cold water pelting down on them. But most of all she saw the fuzzy shape of the gun she had taken from him, that she had held in her own hands and pointed straight at her enemy.</p><p>The jolt didn’t come from the arrival of this image. It came from the memory of what she almost did next. In that moment, with her fingers on the trigger, Katara had felt the blood thudding thick and slow through her veins. Her world collapsed down to that one moment and that one man, and for an instant her vision blurred so that she could not see Yon Rha’s body, but only his pleading eyes. She was seconds away from pulling the trigger.</p><p>Katara sat up in frustration, yanking the mask away from her face and reaching towards the desk for her phone. With the press of a button, the music evaporated away. Silence rushed in to fill the wake, but not a complete one. From somewhere outside her window, the muted chirping of crickets wound its way into her room.</p><p>With a sigh, she felt her way in the darkness for a light. Not the main overhead light, which was harsh and fluorescent, and not the floor lamp she generally used instead. She turned on the string lights that stretched across the wall above her bed, providing a soft illumination that painted the greyscale of her room in mellow yellows. Tossing aside the covers, Katara picked up her journal from its place on the bookshelf and pulled out the thick-barreled pen attached to it by an elastic loop. There was just enough light to see the lines of her writing and make sure they didn’t overlap, but not enough to distinguish any individual words. That suited her just fine. Settling back into her bed and leaning against the wall it was pushed up against, she began to put down on paper the thoughts swirling around in her head.</p><p><em>I don’t know if what I did is right. I don’t know </em>how <em>to know if what I did was right. I wouldn’t have shot to </em>kill<em>, obviously. But I had the power to hurt him, badly, to return the favor. Aang says I made the right choice, but he was raised by monks so of course he would say that. No matter what logic I try to take, I still feel like I’ve failed. I feel like a little girl again, and I don’t know what to do. I just wish…</em></p><p>
  <em>Mom, I wish you were here.</em>
</p><p>She set down the pen, heartsick. That’s what it came down to, once again. What <em>would</em> her mom have done?</p><p>Kya was strong. She fought back against injustice with all her might. It was from her that Katara had learned to never turn her back on those who needed her. Although they hadn’t had much time together, Katara had learned so much.</p><p>And what about Yon Rha –what had <em>his </em>mother taught him?</p><p>Now that she was most of a day and several hundred miles away from the event that had led to her current state of restlessness, she found herself wondering seriously for the first time about Yon Rha’s life. How he had been raised, what hidden emotions he might harbor, and how he was, technically at least, also human. It was obvious he didn’t have a strong relationship with his mother, and he seemed like the type not to have a strong relationship with <em>anyone</em>. She couldn’t imagine a life without her brother and her friends. Without them, she would feel… empty.</p><p>Katara inhaled sharply. Yon Rha didn’t deserve her sympathy. She couldn’t forgive him now, she was sure of that. But maybe in the future, maybe when she had a few more years behind her. They would have to see. Clearly, there would be no answers tonight, but she felt a little better, as if a clear stream of mountain water had trickled into her mind and swept away some of the dark mud hiding in its corners. Brushing over the textured pages sitting in her lap, Katara blinked sleepily and marveled at how her mind had quieted over the course of her reflections. She raised a hand to her necklace, fingering the design on the pendant.</p><p>
  <em>Is it just me, or does this feel warmer than normal?</em>
</p><p>The rational side of her brain reasoned that any temperature difference must be due to her own body heat. She was getting emotional thinking through these issues, and her body was reacting to that. But the dreamer side told a different story.</p><p>Well, it wasn’t a perfect resolution, but it would have to do for now. Katara was <em>tired</em>. It had been a long day in a series of long days, and what she needed now was to rest. She put the notebook away and adjusted the blankets around herself. This time, the instant her head hit the pillow Katara felt herself tumbling into the welcome rabbit hole of dreaming. Images and scenes from her past mixed with new fantastical characters melded together, blurring the line between fiction and reality. When she woke up blissfully late the next morning, feeling better than she had all week, she couldn’t remember a single thing.</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. Katara spent most of it by herself, camped out by the lake and listening to playlists of soft indie music while she caught up on homework. She watched the sunset, and although there were only a few wispy clouds this time for the sun to paint its light onto, it was still beautiful. Her meals were taken picnic style, in that same spot. And at night the insomnia didn’t visit again, for which she was grateful. This next week was the final one before Spring Break, which meant every professor was cramming in exams and projects galore.</p><p>In fact, every member of The Gang had at least one exam in that week, which meant Katara would be hosting a series of study parties in the library. This was a regular occurrence during the toughest weeks of school, and to make things more exciting they had invited Zuko to join as well. His status as a member of the group was still murky, but now that Katara seemed okay with him, the rest were all but ready to welcome him in as an official member with the extra official induction ceremony. First though, they had to come up with an induction ceremony.</p><p>Thus, Monday afternoon found Katara, Aang, Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Zuko all staked out at their library table. It was Sokka’s turn to bring snacks, and he had procured an impressive stash of chips and candy bars –mostly taken from the dining hall. He was extremely proud of his prowess when it came to shamelessly making off with large amounts of stolen goods, and was at that moment boasting about it to Zuko, who represented the only fresh ears when it came to this topic.</p><p>“And then I grabbed the whole tray off the table, and just <em>walked away</em>. The dining staff saw, but I looked so official, they didn’t dare say anything. And a few students stared at me in awe, but I didn’t pay them any attention.” Sokka was so overcome with the novelty of his feat that he leapt up onto a chair and began shaking his fist at the stacks of books around them. “<em>Just like that!</em> I’m a legend, I tell you!”</p><p>Now it was Zuko’s turn to stare in awe –or something like that, anyway –as he wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into. Aang was hyping up the snack saboteur, while Suki leaned back and grinned at the entertainment. Toph rolled her eyes. Although she couldn’t tell exactly what was happening, she could make a pretty solid guess. Even Katara, who would normally chide her brother for these antics, was chuckling.</p><p>“Okay Sokka, we acknowledge your amazing feat, but get down from there before one of the Joo Dee’s see you,” she said, referencing the common nickname for the assistant librarians. Unlike Bumi, they tended to be extremely rule-abiding, and wanted to make sure the student populace was too. Unfortunately, some people were beyond reforming.</p><p>Finally Sokka sat down in a manner more appropriate to polite society, but he still wasn’t quite ready to begin the long and arduous process of studying.</p><p>“So, my dear sister and Zuko,” he began, leaning forward in a conspiratorial fashion. “I’ve heard that you two gleaned some very <em>interesting </em>information about the Dai Li and a certain professor at this noble institution during your weekend trip. Care to enlighten us?”</p><p>Katara looked up from her Fischer Projections. “Actually, I did want to talk to you guys about this.” She gave them a quick rundown of what they had learned, with Zuko noting that they didn’t have any concrete evidence for Yon Rha’s claims.</p><p>“But if it really is true, and Professor Feng and my sister <em>are</em> working together on something, I’d be worried.”</p><p>“I believe it,” Toph declared. “Feng always gives me the creeps, and I’ve only been in contact with him a few times. And I don’t know much about your sister, Zuko, but she doesn’t seem like the most stable layer in the geological formation, if you know what I mean.”</p><p>Unfortunately, Zuko did know what she meant. “We should investigate it, at least. But honestly, I have a big coding project and an econ quiz this week, and I don’t think I can handle adding anything else on top of that. </p><p>Suki nodded. “I think we can all agree that this is not an ideal time to conduct investigations. It’d probably be better to regroup over Spring Break.” She glanced at her boyfriend. “Speaking of which, do you guys have any plans? Sokka and I were thinking it would be nice to all spend it together, but we weren’t sure where.”</p><p>They all glanced around at each other. Aang usually stayed with Katara and Sokka over breaks, but their father was away on a business trip and couldn't come pick them up. There was always the option of an eight hour bus ride, but that wasn’t especially appealing. And Toph was getting sick of going back home to parents who still didn’t support her rising MMA career and lectured her daily about going to tournaments. They could always find a place to rent together, but that had its own logistical hurdles. As they mulled over various options, Zuko spoke up.</p><p>“Actually, if you guys want we could probably go to my family’s place on Ember Island. It might be a little run down because no one’s been there in a couple of years, but it’s pretty quiet and the house is big enough for all of us.” He looked around at the astonished faces around him. “I mean, just as an option!”</p><p>Aang was the first to respond, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. “Wait, are you serious? That sounds <em>amazing! </em>I’ve always wanted to visit an island! Are there any giant fish?”</p><p>“Um… no, I don’t think so. But maybe you’ll be the first to find them? By the way, we can probably drive most of the way in Uncle’s Jeep and then take a ferry to the island,” Zuko added, trying to make the plan sound more feasible. “The house is by the beach, too.” He hadn’t had friends over to Ember Island in… years? It might be nice to invite these new ones, and he was definitely not motivated by any desire to see Katara in a swimming suit. Definitely not.</p><p>And so it was settled. Despite her tendency to get carsick, even Toph also evinced a strong interest and lightly punched Zuko as an expression of gratitude.</p><p>“We’re going on a ROAD TRIP!”</p><p> </p><p>Of course, before any road trips could be embarked upon, they had to first get through the rest of the week. Collectively, the six friends spent almost a hundred hours in the library, leafing through textbooks, typing furiously away on their laptops, and last-minute cramming for exams. As they were study <em>parties, </em>after all, each day had a theme. On Wednesday afternoon, after spending an hour in her dorm room panicking and on the verge of tears after a particularly difficult Organic Chemistry midterm, Katara picked herself up and headed to the library. By the time she arrived the surface of the table was almost fully covered, piled high with a wide assortment of stuffed animals. It instantly made her feel better, and she added a few of her own to the mix –a stuffed bison with six legs she had found once at a thrift shop and instantly fallen in love with, a duck that doubled as a pillow, and a little turtle she had been given as a child. After a closer look at the table’s current occupants, she arched an eyebrow at Sokka’s smug face as he sat half buried in several multi-colored bears. Out of all of them, he was the one with the biggest hoard of stuffed friends, to the point where he had enlisted Suki to help carry them. And because he was a big fan of carnival games, Sokka’s contributions also tended towards a larger size.</p><p>Katara shook the hand of a giant sloth propped up on the innermost seat, and settled down next to it. The hardest part of her week was done, and now all she had was a time-consuming but relatively uncomplicated project for her whales class, and a short paper for World Politics. Speaking of that class, an interesting event had chanced on Monday night. Out of the blue Professor Feng had cancelled class, saying that he had an important conference to attend and would need the entire week. Now that she thought of it, he had cancelled classes for a conference or meeting twice already that semester. It had seemed perfectly innocent before –he was a highly regarded professor after all –but in the light of Yon Rha’s accusations, she began to wonder if there was more to the story.</p><p>It was more food for thought, but for now she had to get to work. After clearing a small working surface, Katara began building her scaled down model of a sperm whale mother and calf out of wire and craft clay. She had managed to shape the main bodies and was working on the more difficult tail section when Zuko arrived, spinning a keychain around his finger.</p><p>He did a double take at the massive quantity of fluff already on the table, and looked back down at his own keychain, which was the closest thing he had to a stuffed animal.</p><p>“So, uh, I guess you guys really went all out on this one,” he said, resting the keychain, composed of a little felt ball of fire nestled in a frying pan, on top of Katara’s turtle. Then he jumped back, not because of the stuffed animals but rather at the sudden appearance of a bald head from a pile of them.</p><p>“Oh, you think <em>this</em> is all out?” Aang asked, narrowing his eyes playfully. “If we were to pool our full combined power, you wouldn’t have anywhere to sit, either! We could cover this whole corner of the library!”</p><p>Sokka flashed him a thumbs up, in complete agreement with his friend’s statement. Turning to Zuko, he added, “Plus, there’s even more back home!”</p><p>“…Right.” Zuko nodded, obviously wondering if Aang was exaggerating or he really meant it. But knowing these people, the outrageous statement actually had a high chance of being true. Regardless of whatever conclusions he came to, Zuko didn’t end up running away while he still had the chance, and instead chose to sit next to Katara.</p><p>She greeted him just as she would any of her friends, and they shared a secret smile, thinking of the journey they had undertaken together. As he dropped his backpack on the floor and leant down to grab something from it, their arms brushed against each other, and Katara felt a tingle of electricity flash through her body.</p><p><em>Yikes! What was </em>that<em>? </em>She quickly repositioned her arm and returned to carving out the curve of the calf’s tail. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted how the t-shirt Zuko was wearing clearly showed his toned arms. On reflex, she mentally gagged at herself thinking that he had “toned arms.” What, was she thirteen again? <em>But it doesn’t hurt to just </em>notice<em>…</em></p><p>Luckily, before she could travel any further down these ruminations, Zuko gestured to the table’s diverse occupants and asked, “So, which ones of these are yours?”</p><p>She smiled and introduced him to her fluffy companions, delighting in his sincere appreciation of them. “And where did your keychain come from? You’d better have a good story, seeing as you only brought <em>one.</em>”</p><p>He huffed in mock anger. “Hey! When <em>I</em> was a child, I played only with the highest quality educational games and model kits. I mean, I guess I must have had some stuffed animals when I was a baby, but I have no idea where those went.”</p><p>Katara giggled, imagining an infant Zuko surrounded by giant stuffed bears and elephants in a fancy crib. “Okay, okay, fine. Obviously you’ve been taking your education very seriously for a long time.”</p><p>“Well, that was mostly because of my dad. But to answer your question, Mai gave me this keychain back when we were dating –it’s a character from one of my favorite movies.”</p><p>
  <em>Oh, so he’s dated Mai before? That serious looking fire spinning girl?</em>
</p><p>Sensing her curiosity, Zuko continued. “Yeah, we broke up a while ago but we’re still on good terms.” He paused. “Well, we did have a rough patch right after, but it’s all good now. She’s super cool, and now she’s actually going out with Ty Lee.”</p><p>“Oh, I remember her! They did a dance together at the fire show!” Katara’s sudden and inexplicable sense of jealousy had passed, and she was more than happy to recall how impressed she had been by their performance to ‘Hate You Less.’ “Aw, their part of the show was so cute, but somehow also really edgy.”</p><p>Zuko laughed. “Yeah, that’s pretty spot on for Ty Lee and Mai,” he said, nodding in approval.</p><p>They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each working on their own projects but occasionally seeking feedback on picking the correct shade of blue for a whale’s underbelly or the correct usage of the Oxford comma. When Toph arrived an hour later, grumbling about the latest unreasonable requirements from her professors, the group took a study break and took turns giving her stuffed animals to identify by touch. With the teddy bears and elephants she was completely accurate, but the bison was more troublesome, leading to much confusion on her part and merriment on everyone else’s.</p><p>“What is this, some kind of giant insect? Is it a bumblebee?” When her friends wouldn’t stop laughing, she located the loudest source and threw the stuffed animal squarely into Sokka’s face.</p><p>As Katara rushed to rescue her beloved bison, the rest of the group collapsed into peals of laughter, and eventually Toph joined in too. She took great joy in the accuracy of her markswomanship, and all things considered, she decided to call it even.</p><p> </p><p>On Thursday Zuko was working at The Jasmine Dragon, so they decided to head there for a change of pace and some delicious study snacks. As Sokka had predicted weeks ago, the tea shop was quickly becoming another one of their familiar haunts. Only the biggest tables were large enough to fit all of them, so the theme for today was a less space consuming one: tea. Simple enough, considering their location, and Iroh was delighted to see such a friendly group of customers piling into his shop.</p><p>“Welcome!” he greeted them warmly. “What can I offer for you all today?”</p><p>One by one they made their orders, with Katara up last. She paid for her Jasmine tea and green tea cake, but Iroh reached out and stopped her before she went to rejoin her friends.</p><p>“Katara, I wanted to check in with you. Zuko didn’t mention any specifics, but I know that you’ve been through a great deal this past weekend. How are you feeling now?”</p><p>She bit her lip. The flurry of activities this week had pushed thoughts of Yon Rha to the back of her mind, but in the quiet moments she was filled with unease and uncertainty. To her horror, tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes. Katara had avoided talking about these thoughts with her friends precisely to avoid this issue, but Iroh’s kind voice brought all her emotions back to the surface.</p><p>“I… I guess I’m okay?” She said, blinking rapidly.</p><p>“Hm…” Iroh furrowed his brows, clearly unconvinced by her response. “Why don’t you come into the back and let me know what’s going on, however much you feel comfortable.”</p><p>When Katara nodded, he waved over another employee to tend to the register, and guided her back to the break room. Iroh waited until she was comfortably seated in a plush armchair, conveniently next to a box of tissues on the main table. “I take it you’ve been encountering some difficulties lately?”</p><p>The tears welled up again, and Katara grabbed a tissue to crumple in her fist. She wrestled for several moments with how much to tell Iroh, but in the end she told him the whole story. Before he had asked, she hadn’t even realized that she <em>wanted </em>to talk about it. But it felt much better to put her fears out into the open than to leave them locked up inside her chest.</p><p>“And that’s pretty much it,” she finished. “In my head I know I did the right thing, but somehow it still feels incomplete. I feel like I’m missing something, and I don’t know what. And I feel like I should be over this already, but… I’m just not.” She looked from her interlocked hands to see Iroh looking kindly back at her.</p><p>“I see,” he said. “You have indeed been under a lot of stress. I’m so sorry, Katara, that you had to go through that.” He shook his head slowly, his eyes deep with emotion. “Tell me, when you think of Yon Rha, do you have a physical response?”</p><p>Taken aback by this unexpected question, Katara remained silent while she tuned into her body. “I feel a tightness in my chest, and my stomach. And my shoulders are tense.”</p><p>“Hm. It’s good to stay aware of these feelings; it means your body is looking out for you. Thank your muscles for their work, and then take several deep breaths to release the tension.”</p><p>Closing her eyes in the quiet break room, Katara inhaled and exhaled, feeling herself begin to relax into the armchair. When she spoke again, her voice was still shaky but less so than earlier.</p><p>“I feel a little better now. Less like I’m going to cry, anyway,” she said, attempting a laugh.</p><p>“Good, good. Healing from the wounds of our past is a process, and it may take a lifetime. For you, the memory of your mother’s life is still strong, just as it should be. But you are not betraying her memory by not taking revenge on Yon Rha. From what you’ve told me, I think she would be very proud that you were able to face him, and that you’ve been so strong.”</p><p>With that, Katara proved her earlier statement incorrect. She hadn’t cried on the day that she met Yon Rha for the second time. But now that Iroh was saying the words she had so desperately wanted to hear, she couldn’t stop herself.</p><p>Iroh handed her another tissue. “It’s okay to release your emotions. Actually, it’s very healthy. Why don’t you stay here for a while, and come back out whenever you’re ready?” He patted her gently on the shoulder and headed to the door. “I’ll lock this on the way out, so just make sure you unlock it before leaving.”</p><p>“Iroh?” Katara said, turning to Iroh as he reached for the door handle. “Thank you so much.”</p><p>He smiled gravely back at her. “I fully meant every word I said. I truly believe your mother would be proud, and I know I am too.” And then he was gone.</p><p>Katara curled up in the armchair, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She was safe. She could take all the time she needed, then return to her friends. Closing her eyes again and resting her head against the seat’s soft cloth, she reached for her necklace.</p><p>The pendant was warm to the touch.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, wow, this chapter took several surprising turns while I was writing it. Facing Yon Rha was such a big event for Katara, and I feel like she would need some time to process it. But when dealing with such big and emotional issues, it never hurts to have a friend help!<br/>I will also say that being in college really helps when writing about college. If any of you reading this are in midterms szn, I’m wishing you the best of luck! Bonus luck if you’re remote this semester or year :/ Also, shoutout to anyone who knows what a Fischer Projection is. 😊<br/>Thank you all for reading, have a great day, and I’d love to know what you thought of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Ember House Special</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As is to be expected given our present company of six strong-willed and sometimes violent actors, the  Gang’s first official road trip is <em>highly </em>chaotic. Within two hours of leaving campus, Aang has bewailed several times more than is strictly necessary his forgotten toothbrush, Katara has reminded him just as many that “Toothbrushes are really easy to buy, pretty much anywhere you go!” and Sokka has needed to use the bathroom not once, but twice. At the three hour mark, Toph becomes carsick and gets more and more irritable with each bump in the road. When Zuko innocently questions if it’s common for blind people to get motion sickness, she begins a tirade about how it actually has nothing to do with the <em>eyes, </em>but rather the <em>ears. </em>This is a sensitive topic for Toph, and she has developed a wide vocabulary of terms such as “the Labyrinth,” “fluid of the inner ear,” and “vestibular senses,” to ensure that anyone who asks her once will never do so again.</p><p>It’s <em>very</em> effective.</p><p>Four hours in Suki develops a headache and Zuko begins to question his life decisions, mostly in his head but sometimes aloud. They <em>still </em>can’t agree on one type of music, so Katara makes a playlist that mixes R&amp;B, pop music, indie, oldies, instrumental songs, and heavy metal. Musical genre whiplash aside, this manages to keep the peace long enough for them to reach their destination, so she counts it as a success.</p><p>And five hours after these friends first set sail for strange waters, they arrive tired and grumpy at the ferry to Ember Island. Which brings us to the present moment…</p><p> </p><p>…And Katara heaves a sigh of relief. One more hour, and she would have started throwing punches. There are only so many times she can patiently remind her friends about the existence of convenience stores, and only so long she withstand the smell of her brother’s stinky socks. After that last hour she is elated to be out in the fresh air, a backpack slung over her shoulder and a sparkling ocean in front of her.  As she waits for her friends to unload their packs from the jeep and emerge from the parking lot, Katara walks over to the railing and leans against it, staring down into the deep blue waters. It’ll be sunset in a few hours, and they’ll be able to watch it from inside the house –Zuko has promised a gorgeous view, and she is <em>very </em>excited. Her spirits lift along with the breeze, as the salt air washes away any last traces of grumpiness. Gleeful shouts emerge from behind her, and she smiles as Aang runs full force towards the rails, only to stop an inch away from smashing into them.</p><p>“THIS. IS. AWESOME!” He whoops, waving his duffel bag in the air. His head gleams in the sun, and it appears that the warm rays have erased his fears of improper dental hygiene, because he is utterly beaming.</p><p>Katara retreats slightly, grinning at her friend but afraid for the sanctity of her bones while the duffel whirls in her vicinity. She puts up her hands in a placating gesture. “Okay there, Aang, why don’t we leave the super heavy bag on the <em>ground </em>while we celebrate, hm?”</p><p>Luckily he does so without further remonstrance, but even this movement is giddy. He drops the bag from one hand to the other, before dropping it onto his raised feet.</p><p>“Never let it be said that Aang lacks an acrobatic flair!” he shouts at the conclusion of these tricks, and Katara dutifully applauds. Meanwhile, the rest of the group catches up, with Zuko in front.</p><p>“You guys ready to board the ferry?” he asks, and holds his breath in case anyone has to use the bathroom <em>again. </em>But everyone nods in assent, so he leads them to the boarding area, where they show their tickets and climb to the uppermost level, open to the sky. It’s a tidy little ship, with two levels and a clear command center for the pilot. It’s late in the day and there are only a few other passengers on board, so the Gang is free to roam as they please. As they explore, Aang throws off a salute every crew member he sees, much to their amusement. He has a way of getting people to instantly like him, mostly due to wide smiles and unrelenting earnestness.</p><p>As the crew casts off and the engine throttles, Katara picks a seat at the very front, where she can see the vast expanse of everything their boat is rushing towards. But she doesn’t sit down –after so many hours in the car, it feels good to stretch her legs. With her back on the foredeck’s railing, she glances around. Sokka and Suki are off to the side whispering together, Aang is running around checking the lifejackets, and Zuko approaches her, casually dropping his canvas duffel bag on a nearby seat. The wind plays with his hair as it whips around the ends of hers, and she sees him smile through the strands that partially block her view. Katara tucks the offending strands behind her ear, and Zuko tries to push his back to lay flat. But it’s a useless battle, and eventually with a shrug of the shoulders he concedes defeat.</p><p><em>That’s… kind of cute? Oh boy…</em> Much to her dismay, Katara has been noticing more and more little things about Zuko recently. Like the way he always places her teacup and saucer so gently on the table that it hardly makes a sound, or how lately he’s been greeting her with a smile every time they meet, or sparkle in his eye when he talks about his latest coding project. Or how he tugs on his hair in frustration when the project <em>isn’t</em> going well, which seems to be most of the time. Right now she’s noting his crisp black t-shirt, somehow free of wrinkles despite hours in the car, which along with his Fire House branded bomber jacket looks effortlessly cool. Katara feels like this is verging on something dangerous.</p><p>For his part, Zuko doesn’t seem to notice the way she’s staring. He’s the same as always, albeit calmer than the previous week –the nervous energy of midterm season sifted away by the rocking of the boat.</p><p>“Excited?” he asks, sporting a teasing smirk because he already knows the answer.</p><p>The obvious truth is that yes, she is and has been for a week, looking forward to this well-deserved break. But Katara is obstinate, and that smug face puts her in a fighting mood. She turns her head and gazes out at the water, enjoying the salt spray that brushes over her face. “Eh, I don’t know. Never been to an island before –they’re always full of tourists.” She casts a sidelong glance at Zuko, but quickly shifts her eyes when he turns towards her.</p><p>“Trust me, you’re going to like this place. It’s small, quiet, and I know all the nicest spots. Plus, there’s a theater troupe that my family used to go see, and I think they’re still performing. I mean, I was never their biggest fan because they butchered ‘Love Amongst the Dragons’ <em>every year</em>. But hey, maybe they’ve improved?”</p><p>Her interest is piqued, and Katara loosens from her nonchalant attitude. She’s never been good at this kind of game; it’s fun for a while, but she’d rather just say what she’s thinking. “You’ve been coming here since you were a kid, right?” she asks, and Zuko nods in response. A sparkle of mischief enters her eyes. “So, I’m assuming you have lots of funny stories from that time?”</p><p>Zuko crosses his arms and casts her a suspicious glance. “Suppose I do… that isn’t exactly the kind of information I can give away for free, no?” He raises an arch eyebrow, but his expression is playful. “But perhaps we can work out some kind of exchange.”</p><p>“I have <em>lots </em>of stories about Sokka, if that’s what you’re looking for.”</p><p>In one stride he closes the distance between them, eyes intent and that tiny smirk flickering back into place. He brings the warmth with him. “Oh, but I’d much rather know about <em>you.</em>”</p><p>Katara’s pulse quickens and she feels a blush rising on her cheeks, so she quickly turns back towards the water –she can just barely see Ember Island in the distance, a narrow strip of brown and green against the flat ocean. “Fine,” she says, still not looking at the aggravating boy beside her. “But I asked first, so you have to start.”</p><p>A burst of laughter, and then a thoughtful silence. She wonders what stories he’s sorting through, how many memories are discarded because they’re too filled with anger or sorrow. Katara doesn’t know much about his past, but from what she has gleaned in conversations with him or Iroh, she knows it wasn’t an easy one.</p><p>“Well,” he begins, and she leans in to hear better over the roar of the engine. “I do remember one time we came to the island when I was eight or nine years old. Back when my family was still all together and happy, we would come here every summer. A few of the other high-ranking officials in Phoenix Rising also had houses here, so Azula and I would sometimes play with them. But mostly it was just us, and we spent most of our time by the beach. I would make sandcastles, and Azula would practice her karate forms.”</p><p>“On the sand?” Katara asks, surprised.</p><p>“Yeah, she said it made it easier when she was back on flat ground. She’s always been like that, going above and beyond –but I mean, it worked. She’s terrifyingly good.”</p><p>Katara nods, and unconsciously scoots a little closer. “And your sandcastles? Were they any good?”</p><p>He glares in mock anger at the question, and somberly puts a hand over his heart. “Of course they were! I’m wounded that you can even imagine <em>my</em> castles as anything less than works of art. I made them with two or three levels, towers, turrets, the works.” His eyes soften with nostalgia. “There was one day in particular, I had spent hours constructing my most ambitious one yet. It was a replica of our house, and I wanted to recreate every detail, from each window to all the balconies and arched doorways. My mom was sitting nearby reading in the shade, but she had a picture pulled up on her phone that I kept on running over to reference.” As Zuko tells his story, his gestures become more and more animated, pantomiming the detailed movements of sand construction.</p><p>“It was a perfect day. The quintessential beach scene, with waves crashing in and seagulls soaring overhead. Azula kept on scattering breadcrumbs around my sand-house, trying to get them to peck at it, and I kept on chasing them away. It was more to annoy me than anything, but not even she could have predicted what happened next.</p><p>Finally, I was almost done. Mom had gone inside because it was getting hot, but I was too invested to stop for snack time. It was my masterpiece! I was so proud of it, and I wanted to show Father when he got back in the evening. And then just when I was adding the finishing touches, it happened.”</p><p>He pauses, looking down at her. “So, those seagulls, right? They had spent the morning feasting, and now it was time for their natural bodily processes.”</p><p>Katara’s mouth drops as she stares at him in pre-emptive horror. “Oh no..” </p><p>“Oh, <em>yes</em>.” He replies, grinning ruefully. “I still remember it so clearly. I was smoothing out the roof, and I reached down to get my flat shovel. I distinctly heard a ‘splat,’ sound, but I was busy rummaging around the bag of plastic tools, and I didn’t realize what had happened until I stood back up and saw a giant white mess all over the front of my magnificent house. At that moment, Azula, without missing a beat, took a snapshot of my shocked face. And… you can probably guess what happened next.”</p><p>Despite herself, she can’t help but start giggling as Zuko finishes his story.</p><p>“I ran crying back to my mom, and she went back out with me to assess the damage. To be fair, she did try to console me, but I could tell she thought it was pretty funny. Of course, Azula found it <em>hilarious,</em> and I know she still has that picture somewhere<em>.</em> Looking back I guess I can see why, but at the time I was devastated –for a few hours anyway.”</p><p>“Oh, and what happened then?”</p><p>He grins. “We went to the ice cream store and I ordered a triple scoop sundae with brownies and whipped cream. After that, my ruined sandcastle didn’t seem so bad,” he says, shaking his head. “If only things were so easy now.”</p><p>They’re silent for a while, thinking back to the times when a sweet treat could erase all their worries and doubts. It’s true that things aren’t so simple anymore. But laughter and good company helps, so Katara tells him about how she wore down a teacher who used to have a rule against teaching martial arts to girls “despite a long history of badass female fighters!” Her stories about training fails remind Zuko of his fire spinning scrapes, in particular, the time he burned off the end of his man bun and had to get a haircut to cover it up. “You have no idea –the singed hair smelled <em>so bad. </em>But it was time for a change, and I had wanted to get away from Father’s hairstyle anyway.”</p><p>As the ferry skims lightly over blue waters and Ember Island grows ever larger, they continue to swap stories. Katara’s abs hurt from laughing, and she thinks that this is the most relaxed she has ever seen Zuko. In fact, it’s the most relaxed <em>she’s </em>ever been around him.</p><p>
  <em>Who knew? The same guy I spent an entire semester fighting against is also pretty funny when you get to know him.</em>
</p><p>Before they know it, they’ve entered the little port at the base of the island, and it’s time to disembark. Katara almost doesn’t want the boat ride to end, but she’s hungry and Zuko has promised them a hearty dinner at the local restaurant near his house. Throwing on backpacks and duffel bags, shuffling into their jackets and rolling suitcases down the plank, the Gang set off onto the last and shortest leg of their journey.</p><p> </p><p>By the time they’ve eaten, arrived at the house and marveled at how big it is, albeit a little run down, picked their rooms and taken their showers, a velvety night has settled over the island. They’re sitting in one corner of what used to be the main hall, cozy among blankets and pillows pilfered from various linen closets around the house. Aang has found a low round table that they’re now gathered around, sipping on tea that Zuko just prepared in the luckily still-functional kitchen.</p><p>“A little smoky, hints of ginger and cinnamon, and something else… cherries?” Suki lifts her head and glances quizzically at their tea purveyor. “This is really interesting, Zuko, what is it?”</p><p>He answers with the practiced smoothness of a tea shop employee, one who also happens to be nephew to one of the greatest blenders in Ba Sing Se. “What you’re tasting here is a Jasmine Dragon house special, which takes its name after this island itself –Ember Island. It’s a Ruby Oolong, and you’re exactly correct about the flavors: black cherries, figs, and a bit of ginger and cinnamon to top it off.”</p><p>“Wow, you really know your teas,” Suki says, impressed. “To be expected, no doubt.”</p><p>“Well, having a list of ingredients on the back of the carton also helps, but yeah, I pretty much know our menu by heart now.” He puts hand on the back of his head, ruffling his hair. “To be honest, I used to think Uncle’s obsession with tea was just a distraction, but now he’s built a whole business out of it. It’s pretty impressive.”</p><p>“Aw, I’m sure you’ve helped draw in a few customers as well,” Toph says, grinning. “Not that I can see for myself, but I’ve heard some girls whispering, and a few guys too. Honestly, some people need to learn how to keep their voices down when they’re trying to be discreet.”</p><p>At this, Sokka laughs uproariously and Zuko busies himself with pouring out another cup of tea so that he doesn’t have to answer. It takes a lot of concentration not to spill, after all.</p><p>The next few moments are quiet ones, as each member of the group sips on his or her cup and enjoys the steady warmth it brings. Katara rearranges her pillows and steals one from her brother when he’s busy snapping a photo of the tea spread –for his social media account dedicated to food, along with the most random captions she has ever seen (@sokkasgoodeats). She leans back among the fluffy contraband and feels her body sinking further and further down. At this point, Katara isn’t sure if she’ll be able to get back up again.</p><p>Of course, Aang is the one to break the silence. He may be a former monk-in-training, but right now he’s restless, excited to be on an island for the first time and wanting to capture every moment. “Guyss, we should play a game! Never Have I Ever? Twenty-one Questions? Oo, how about Truth or Dare?”</p><p>Toph groans in protest. “Aang, we literally spend all of our time together. I already know your favorite color of socks, how much you care about dental hygiene, and that you’ve never kissed a girl. What else is there?”</p><p>Aang pouts. “You could have just said no…”</p><p>“Well, I was trying to prove a point,” Toph replies, stubborn as a rock.</p><p>“There’s a way to do that politely, you know.”</p><p>“Twinkletoes, when have <em>I</em> ever cared about being polite?”</p><p>“<em>O-kay,</em>” Katara breaks in, before this can turn into a full on spat. “You’ve both made your opinions clear. Personally, I’m not a big fan of these games, but why don’t we let our host decide, since he has so graciously let us into his home?”</p><p>All eyes turn towards Zuko.</p><p>Poor Zuko, who has only just recovered from the last time the attention was focused on him. Now he starts and sits up, flustered. “Um..” he says, looking around the room. Does he really want to learn these people’s secrets? Is he willing to share his own? Katara can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he weaves his fingers through slightly damp hair. Finally, his eyes come to rest on hers, and the instant before he speaks she already knows what he’s thinking.</p><p>
  <em>Oh goodness, here we go…</em>
</p><p>“Sorry, Katara,” he says, but he doesn’t look sorry at all. “I choose Truth or Dare.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahhh what’s going to happen next? I, too have no idea. Any favorite questions or dares?<br/>A few notes:<br/>1.	I know that you aren’t supposed to suddenly change tenses in the middle of a story, but I just finished reading a book that did a lot of playing around with tenses (due to the time-jumping nature of the story) and when I started writing this chapter it just turned into present tense. We’ll see what happens next time… 😊<br/>2.	Also, thank you for you patience. It’s been a hot sec since the last chapter, and I’m afraid it may be a similar hot sec until the next one. Right now the focus is on the rest of this semester, but the hope is that I’ll have more time over winter break!<br/>3.	I hope you are having a lovely day today and that you’ve enjoyed hearing about Zuko’s childhood escapades! Personally, I am looking forward to more shenanigans on Ember Island… until next time!</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. As Everything Begins to Change</h2></a>
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  <em>Content Warning: Brief mention of non-graphic police violence. This content will be marked the paragraph beforehand.</em>
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  <em>(Take care of yourselves, everyone)</em>
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<p>Katara walked out of Ember Island theater buzzing with energy, wishing for a pool to throw herself into and run through a couple of laps to cool off. The dirt path was dry after a week without rain, and each footfall left a miniature storm of dust in its wake. As she pounded past the stream of theatergoers around her, Katara reflected that it would have been better if she hadn’t known the source of her current unrest. Then at least she could think about something, or even just <em>someone </em>else.</p>
<p>She knew it was because that aggravating boy chose to sit next to her in the theater, and because it was a packed house and the benches were too small, only mere centimeters separated them during the entire two hour play. It was because several times over the course of the show their arms had brushed and Katara was instantly frozen to the spot, but every time she chanced a glance over at Zuko he looked utterly unaffected. Because she had kept count of each time a shift in position or a lean forward had created the slightest amount of contact between their bodies, and yet she still couldn’t figure out if he had chosen that seat purposefully or on a whim. Between that and Aang and Toph’s running commentary about if actors’ voices fit their personas, Katara was lucky to have been able to follow the wildly shifting thread of the plot.</p>
<p><em>It’s really </em>rude, <em>that’s what it is! He’s just trying to play mind games with me, because of what happened yesterday. But Katara, why are you letting him? Snap out of it!</em></p>
<p>As if on cue, a hand appeared in front of her face and two fingers rapidly slid against each other to create that characteristic punctuating sound. “Hey, anybody there?”</p>
<p>“What?” Katara asked, startled out of her thoughts mid-stride. <em>Okay, note to self: walking faster doesn’t help when he has longer legs than you…</em></p>
<p>“I <em>said,</em> what did you think of the show? I brought you guys to this one because I knew that at least <em>one </em>other person knew the story.” He paused, looking back at their companions casually ambling through the tree-lined path. “Although judging from the comments being made, I think it really was <em>only </em>one.”</p>
<p>Okay, so he was just making conversation. Katara could deal with just conversation, so long as it didn’t veer into any other uncomfortable topics. Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t make <em>him </em>just a little uncomfortable…</p>
<p>“You know, I told you the first time we talked about this series that none of my friends have read it! Were you even listening to me back then?”</p>
<p>At least he had the decency to look sheepish. “Now that you mention it, I do remember you saying something like that.”</p>
<p>Katara huffed, but moved on to answer Zuko’s question. “Yeah, I was really excited to see a stage adaptation of the Ratava stories! They made some surprisingly large changes though… like the relationship between Gnaa and Aratak was more one-sided, and Okuz became the love interest instead. I feel like this show was meant more for comedic purposes than to really convey the spirit of the story, which I’m a little disappointed by. But it was interesting to see how interactive the show was and the amount of audience participation, which also really changes the whole dynamic. I wonder if they also tweak things based on the live audience feedback? In that case, it would be much more of a living story than a static one, which could explain a lot of the differences.” She paused to take a breath, laughing at Zuko’s flustered expression. “Well, you wanted to know what I thought, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>He blinked a few times in rapid succession. “Um, I wasn’t expecting a whole essay, but that <em>is</em> an interesting take. If I may propose the next paragraph…” he raised an eyebrow questioningly.</p>
<p>Smiling, Katara gestured for him to go ahead.</p>
<p>“The Ember Island Players tend to this more “popular” approach with many of their traditional stories, which is to be expected given their historical context –a difficult time when those in power wanted to keep the masses entertained and docile. However, this is the first time I’ve seen their approach play out against a modern backdrop. I’d say that they’ve found, through trial and error, that certain plot points are just more appealing than others.” He warmed to his topic, and began to talk with fervor.</p>
<p>“For instance, with your example the director probably realized that Okuz and Atarak is simply a more exciting pairing than the original one. They’re opposites in so many ways, but they also have shared experiences that bring them together, like their thorny parental relationships. What they differ in attracts them to each other, and what they have in common deepens the bond.”</p>
<p> Now it was Katara’s turn to be shocked. “Zuko, when you said you had opinions about Gnaa and Atarak’s relationship, you weren’t lying!” She elbowed him, forgetting her previous sensitivity to physical proximity. “And I never knew you were such a romantic, too! You’ve given this pairing quite some thought, haven’t you?”</p>
<p>To Zuko’s credit, he was able to maintain a straight face. “As far as I can see, my conclusions are only natural, and they are further supported by the performance shaped by popular opinion we saw today. As for being a romantic…” </p>
<p>He glanced down at her, and Katara noticed how the last golden rays of sunshine pooled and danced on his cheeks, and how they were reflected in his smiling eyes. Zuko’s raspy voice turned soft as he finished, “…that depends on who it’s for.”</p>
<p>Just a few simple words, just a flick of the eyes in her direction, and Katara was thrown into a new sea of confusion.</p>
<p><em>Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush. We’re not letting him win </em>that <em>easily! </em>Those were the words she repeated to herself, but it was harder to make good on them. She tried to force down the rising color on her cheeks, knowing it was a lost cause. <em>Damm that stupid bet!</em></p>
<p>Beside her, Zuko chuckled, and she knew he had noticed. Of course he had noticed; he had been trying to get this reaction all day.</p>
<p>“So that makes, what, two today?” He counted on his fingers, pretending to be deep in thought. “And only one more to go…”</p>
<p>She glanced up, and regretted it as soon as she saw his wicked grin. Zuko looked very pleased with himself, and the expression hardly wavered even when she threw a hard punch at his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Yeah, whatever,” she said, but Katara was irritated with herself for falling into his trap so easily. She had tried to avoid uncomfortable topics, then steered the ship precisely in that direction. Now, when she couldn’t figure out where to go next.</p>
<p>Zuko looked over, brows slightly furrowed. He seemed about to say something, but before a single word had the chance to escape his mouth, they were knocked out of the way by Sokka’s a little <em>too</em> friendly back thump.</p>
<p>“Ýo!” he shouted, running up from behind and looping an arm around each of their shoulders. “What are you two nerds talking about? I’ll be honest, I didn’t really follow the plot of that show, but I definitely know who my favorite character is! Akkos, the magnificent boomerang throwing beast! Wasn’t he incredible?”</p>
<p>Normally Katara would have been annoyed at her brother’s antics, but now she was just relieved. “Right, of course <em>you </em>would feel a connection to the jokester of their group,” she easily slid into his banter.</p>
<p>“I guess, you did always say that I reminded you of him… but <em>I’m </em>much handsomer.” That last comment was directed back at Suki, who had by now caught up, along with the rest of the group.</p>
<p>She laughed in reply, and Sokka untangled himself from Katara and Zuko to receive a peck on the cheek. “You’re such an idiot,” Suki said fondly, and her boyfriend beamed in response.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back at the house, the Gang caught the last of the sunset, standing outside on the beach until the sun’s crown slipped under the horizon and the pink-lit clouds faded into blue. As the light receded and the sky turned dark, their faces grew contemplative, and they headed inside to the living room, unloading their bags and keys in the opening hallway. In the center of the living room, two small but plump couches with thick velvet upholstery faced each other across a low table, along with a few scattered ottomans. An ornate rug carpeted the floor and muffled their footsteps, and Katara amused herself by following the winding wheat-colored vines through the red background.</p>
<p>As they found seats, Sokka and Suki bundled together while Katara purposefully sat as far as possible from her aggravating friend, Aang retrieved his laptop from his room.  They had had a fun day, but now it was time to get to work.</p>
<p>When he returned, his normally cheerful face was serious, and his voice deliberate. “As you all remember, several weeks ago I sent out a request for information about Ba Sing Se students’ experiences with the Dai Li.  I think the message reached a decent amount of the student population, but of course it’s hard to tell exactly. The good news is that we’ve received a lot of replies which have very… revealing information. Everyone is anonymous, and I’ve collected their responses in this document.”</p>
<p>“I hate to even ask, but I’m assuming there’s bad news as well?” Zuko said, rubbing the back of his head.</p>
<p>In response, Aang gestured towards his computer and turned it around to face his friends, who clustered around the screen. Only Toph stayed leaning back on the sofa, knowing that she would get a verbal summary once everyone was finished. “I’m afraid this <em>is </em>the bad news.”</p>
<p>For several long minutes, only the faint buzzing of electricity intruded upon the quiet of the room. They read, and their eyes grew heavy with the weight of the words. Some passages were skimmed through, others were reread twice or more. As each person finished the last testimony, they retreated away from the computer and sat in silence. Their festive mood of earlier slowly dimmed, and the air hung thick with dark musings.</p>
<p>“So it’s worse than we thought,” Katara said, summing up what was on everyone’s mind. She turned to Toph, who by now was also on high alert.</p>
<p>“Hm, how do we explain this?” She sighed, twisting a strand of hair around her fingers into tightly coiled loops. “There’s a few different main categories of responses. For instance, one subset of people don’t really have anything negative to say about the Dai Li. They may be neutral, or they may have a positive perception of them after general interactions or an incident where calling campus po was helpful. That might be, hm, fifteen to twenty percent?”</p>
<p>“I’d say fifteen,” Suki said, nodding.</p>
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  <em>[Content warning: Mention of non-graphic police violence]</em>
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<p>“Right, ok. So something like that. And the other eighty percent or so had a negative experience to varying degrees. Most of it has to do with the Dai Li coming in and escalating an already bad situation. For instance, there were several incidents when students called the campus police for themselves or their friends in a dangerous health situation, physically or mentally. And in these testimonies, when they come, they belittle students, negate their feelings, and handle them roughly. Excessively so.” Katara paused and took a breath. She had been trying to relay this information in a detached, clinical way, but it hurt to think about what her fellow students had experienced.</p>
<p>Sensing that Katara was struggling to come up with the right words, Sokka gently wrapped an arm around his sister and continued explaining. “In more than one case, this treatment has led students into panic attacks, and led them to regret calling for help in the first place. And avoid doing so in future crises, which obviously has a ton of negative consequences. Of course, there are also many incidents where the Dai Li weren’t even called, or were called for some other concern, but involved themselves anyway. This ranged from being verbally harassed for no good reason, to one instance when a student was restrained and forcibly led out of their dorm room in handcuffs. For no good reason. And… basically, there’s a lot more stories in this vein. It’s a widespread problem.”</p>
<p>“Widespread, and serious,” Aang added. “The Dai Li have caused a lot of damage to some of our classmates, and it seems like they’re running unchecked.”</p>
<p>After that, they all paused for a moment, processing the uncomfortable and bitter truths. Although the Gang had their share of encounters with the Dai Li, they had never experienced harassment at the level of what their peers were describing, and so the stories were shocking. Their worries were in one fell swoop both confirmed and magnified.</p>
<p>“So I guess we’re all agreed,” Toph said slowly, “that this is unacceptable and we need to take down the Dai Li immediately? Or… or… take away their power, or something!” She thumped her fist into the nearest pillow.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Aang replied. “I think we’re all agreed in that regard. The question now is, <em>what </em>can we do?”</p>
<p>Suki shook her head, obviously distressed. “I just can’t believe I didn’t know that all this was happening. We’ve been lucky to mostly avoid contact so far, and also that they’re scared of Toph.” This last comment elicited a satisfied smirk from the girl in question.</p>
<p>“Ha, I think we were too busy dealing with those Phoenix Rising goons last year to pay attention to the Dai Li,” Sokka said, waving his arms to pantomime the crazy series of events. Remembering the current company, he quickly added, “No offense, Zuko.”</p>
<p>“None taken,” the Phoenix Rising scion responded. “But uh, guys… I’m afraid I have more bad news. Do you remember what Yon Rha said about Long Feng and the Dai Li?”klkl He asked, inclining his head at Katara.</p>
<p>“That they were working together, and up to something. Along with… Azula.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. So I’m not exactly on speaking terms with my sister right now, but I know she has some kind of relationship with the Dai Li or power over them. I mean, she used to be head of the student police division, but now it seems like more than that--“</p>
<p>“Wait, wait, Long Feng <em>the professor</em>?” Sokka interrupted, sitting up very straight. “You guys know he was recently made dean of student security, right?”</p>
<p>“<em>What?” </em>Katara and Zuko exclaimed together, locking startled gazes.</p>
<p>“Oh, that is <em>not </em>good news,” she said. “Maybe that’s why he’s been cancelling classes recently. Is it official?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I think so,” Sokka nodded. “I saw an email announcing it this morning, but I forgot why that name sounded familiar. If I’m remembering correctly, he now directly oversees the campus police.”</p>
<p>Suki quickly drew out her phone and confirmed the news. “We are excited to announce a new position for Dean of Student Affairs and Security,” she read aloud. “After much deliberation with the Dai Li leadership and Professor Long Feng, we decided this position was necessary to protect the safety of our student community from our recent uptick in crime rates. As an instrumental player in this conversation, Professor Feng will now serve as the first dean of security, and he looks forward to working with the Dai Li and further interactions with Ba Sing Se students. The confirmation ceremony will take place at the end of Spring Break, before the resumption of classes.” At the conclusion of the email, Suki shut off her phone and threw it across the sofa. “Dammit.”</p>
<p>“Yikes,” Zuko agreed. “And I’m pretty sure this is just the first step. They’ve got something else coming. I don’t have anything concrete, but Azula’s been quiet lately, and that’s usually not a good sign.”</p>
<p>“It’s all so sudden,” Aang said, scratching his head. “Did you guys know that there’s been increased crime lately? Because I haven’t heard anything about it.” As he looked around his circle of friends, everyone shook their heads.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s definitely a little weird,” Katara said. “We have been pretty focused on exams recently, though, so it’s possible that it just escaped our notice. Administration couldn’t create a new position based <em>entirely </em>out of fabricated evidence, right?”</p>
<p>A few tentative head nods greeted this proposition, but Toph had other ideas. “I wouldn’t put it past them. Just think about it –who are the people <em>in charge </em>of reporting crime rates? Who are the ones with direct access to all the evidence?”</p>
<p>“The Dai Li,” Sokka answered, catching onto her idea.</p>
<p>“Exactly. And we already know they’re good-for-nothing jerks, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this “recent uptick in crime” is <em>their </em>doing. I’ve got a feeling about this one.” She crossed her arms and frowned, looking just like the detectives on the hunt from one of Katara’s favorite shows.</p>
<p>Only now, everything was happening in real life. In <em>her </em>life. Katara had experience dealing with overconfident and excessively armed men beyond the law, but now they were up against overconfident and excessively armed men who <em>were </em>the law. And it was also connected to the scarier branches of Zuko’s family? Katara felt tired, frustrated, and angry all at the same time.</p>
<p>A tense discussion began, with Katara arguing that they needed more evidence before jumping to such claims, and Toph retorting that if she had any ideas on how to gather it, to please let them know. Aang jumped in to moderate, while Suki and Zuko sat back to let him try. Meanwhile, Sokka stepped out into the hallway to take a call, and returned just when things were starting to cool down.</p>
<p>“Fine,” Toph grumbled. “I guess you <em>may </em>have a point. Evidence is important if we’re going to tell anyone, but I still think I’m right about this.” She was about to say more, but then her attention was redirected to Sokka’s entrance and the wafting smell of fresh baked dough. “Is that… pizza?”</p>
<p>“You betcha!” He set down the small tower of square shaped boxes onto the low table, effectively halting the conversation for the time being. “I know figuring out this Dai Li stuff is really important, but it’s also like eight thirty and I can’t think when I’m starving, so I went ahead and ordered these while we were talking.” He whisked out the included paper plates and napkins, and opened the first box. “Hope you guys don’t mind if we take a break for dinner?”</p>
<p>Faced with the sight and scent of handmade deep-dish pizza covered in various toppings and oodles of melted cheese, several members of the Gang suddenly realized that they were starving as well. Aang proposed that they resume the discussion tomorrow after spending some time thinking over what they had learned individually, and his resolution was heartily approved.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Sokka,” Katara said, eyeing a particularly delicious looking slice of cheese pizza. “We can always count on you to take care of our stomachs.”</p>
<p>Despite his assertions that, really, it was nothing, Sokka was pleased enough by the chorus of gratitude that he performed several flourishing bows, all while chewing rapidly so as not to lose a moment of precious eating time. Eventually the conversation turned to lighter topics, and once dinner was devoured and the boxes left empty, the friends sat around and chatted for a bit, then drifted off individually or in pairs to their own thoughts. In the end only Katara and Zuko were left, as they had volunteered to clean up the table.</p>
<p>For a while they worked in a comfortable silence, Katara collecting the plates and closing the boxes while Zuko wiped away any stray bits of tomato sauce or leftover strings of cheese. Both of them felt it was nice to just be quiet for a while, after the recent emotionally charged discussions, and soon enough the seating area was left even neater than it had been originally. Katara was strangely uneager to leave, and stalled for time while pretending to check for any last spots to clean. Meanwhile Zuko also returned for purportedly the same purpose after switching off the main overhead light. Only the soft glow of the standing lamp remained as they fastidiously examined the wooden table, waiting. Then, at the same moment, both began to speak.</p>
<p>“So that really was something –oh”</p>
<p>“Well, I guess that’s it  –“</p>
<p>Zuko stopped and gestured for her to go ahead.    </p>
<p><em>Of course soon as it’s just the two of you again, things get awkward,</em> she thought. “Oh, I was just saying that that wasn’t how I thought our day was going to end, but here we are!”</p>
<p>The words rang falsely cheery in her ears and she cringed, but Zuko only nodded.</p>
<p>“Yeah.” He sighed, tilting his head so that the lamplight cast jagged shadows over his face. “Not really how I thought this <em>break</em> was going to go, but I guess you really can’t run away from family… I should have known better.” His fists clenched. “Just when things are starting to change, I should have realized something bad was coming.“</p>
<p>Katara moved closer, sensing the turbulence under his controlled expression. “Zuko, just so you know, none of us blame you for what’s happening. I mean, right now we’re not even sure what <em>is </em>happening.”</p>
<p>Zuko folded his arms and didn’t reply immediately, instead looking off into the darkness. He held his body as tight as a spring coil, but she could see his chest rising and falling as he took several deep breaths. Standing there watching in what felt like a private moment, Katara wondered if she should press further or just let him be.</p>
<p>Just when she was about to leave, he turned back to her and smiled, some of that tension gone, or perhaps just held off to the side. What he said next caught her completely off guard. “You know, I really thought I could win that bet of ours. But now doesn’t really feel like the right time to tease you, so I guess you win.”</p>
<p>For a moment Katara stared at him in confusion, but then her brain caught up and relived the events of the night before: the totally hilarious but relatively wholesome game of Truth or Dare, at least until Toph got the brilliant idea to create a series of bets between themselves. They didn’t have a bottle, so Katara used her favorite fountain pen instead to create a ‘Spin the Bottle’ type situation, except without the bottle and the kissing. Of course, her once-trusty fountain pen ended up creating a bet between her and Zuko, which had led to her current predicament…</p>
<p><em>What’s something that you don’t normally do? Or, something where it’s hard to get you to do it? </em>He had asked, with an intent look in his eyes, and it had felt like all his attention was on her and he really cared about the answer.</p>
<p><em>Oh, I don’t know… a lot of things? Um, I don’t really like running, I guess I don’t travel that often but I </em>do <em>want to, I hate fizzy drinks and um… I don’t blush a lot? </em>As soon as those last words left her mouth, Katara had wished she could reach out and snatch them back. Where had that even come from? This wasn’t something she normally thought about!</p>
<p>But an interested look had flashed over Zuko’s face, and he went with it. Despite her protests, he had managed to wrangle a bet out of her that he could make her blush three times the next day. The rest of the Gang had thought it was hilarious, while Katara just wanted to crawl into a hole.</p>
<p>And now, he had in fact raised two blushes out of her, once over breakfast and again after the play, and Katara was realizing that somehow her normal defenses didn’t work against those sharp cheekbones and dark amber eyes. In her first year Katara had experienced an immediate crush on the handsome and rebellious Jet, but this felt different. It felt like Zuko understood her in ways that sometimes even her friends didn’t, and when he gave her that intense look, her heart started thumping louder for no clear reason. Was she just imagining this, or was it something real?</p>
<p>“Oh, right, the bet,” she managed to choke out. “Um, we never actually came up with the stakes for this bet, did we?”</p>
<p>He stood in the same still stance, but seemed amused as he answered, “No, I guess we did not.” Then it was his turn to leave the circle of light and take a step closer to her. “I’m sure you’re feeling stressed right now,” he said, his voice soft and inquisitive. “So tell me, what can I do that would make you feel better?”</p>
<p><em>Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness. </em>Katara’s brain went into overdrive. <em>Well there are a lot of things, but…</em></p>
<p>“Honestly, I could really use a hug right now.” <em>Is that stupid is that a stupid thing to say oh my goodness what I am I doing –</em></p>
<p>And then warm arms surrounded her and Katara melted a little bit because really, after her dumb mouth blurted that out she realized that she <em>had </em>just wanted a hug and this was turning out to be quite a pleasant experience. The first thing she noticed was that Zuko’s whole body was <em>warm, </em>and his shoulder provided such a nice spot to rest her head and just relax for a while. She half expected him to let go and step away after a few moments passed, but he didn’t. Instead, his arms wrapped her tighter and Katara felt a wave of security sweep over her.</p>
<p>She didn’t know how long they stood like that in the semi-darkness, but when they did break apart Katara found that all the tension had left her body, and her head felt slightly fuzzy.</p>
<p>“I, ahem, I hope that helped,” Zuko said, stumbling over his words. He looked suddenly hesitant and distanced himself from Katara, taking that lovely warmth with him.</p>
<p>“Yes, it did,” Katara replied softly, unsure of where to look. “Thanks.”</p>
<p>“Great! I’m glad.” He rubbed the back of his head, then seemed to catch himself and thrust his hands into his pockets. “Well, I’m probably gonna go back to my room now, so uh, have a good night!”</p>
<p>Almost before she could wave goodbye, he strode out of the room and left her with the solitary light illuminating the now-empty sofas. <em>Illuminating the scene of the crime, </em>her brain supplied, and she felt the urge to laugh.</p>
<p>Really, what a day it had been! She walked over to the lamp and turned it off, waiting for her eyes to adjust to moonlight before padding out of the living room. She flicked on a switch and creaked her way up the old stairs, and rounded a corner to her bedroom. As she passed Zuko’s door, she couldn’t help but smile.</p>
<p>It wasn’t a crime by any means, but Katara knew she would never tell Zuko that<em> he</em> had actually won the bet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>All she wanted was a hug!</p>
<p>Wow, y’all, it’s been a while. If you’ve been reading this story regularly prior to my unexpectedly long hiatus, thank you so much for your patience! I’ve finally found the time/motivation to write again, and I truly appreciate the time you spend reading here.</p>
<p>We’re getting into some heavier topics, and unfortunately all the stories that Katara and Sokka related were pulled from real life. I’m still not sure what the resolution to this will be :/</p>
<p>A few of my notes while writing this story late at night:</p>
<p>‘What’s happening</p>
<p>Zuko says oh, it worse</p>
<p>They like, what we gonna do?’</p>
<p>So… that’s before the polishing. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, positive or constructive! Have a lovely rest of your day 😊</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Calm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was no doubt about it: the following days passed strangely. As the expanded Gang spent more time together, Zuko began to achieve true integration, which was both exciting and slightly terrifying. He was even starting to get flashes of <em>fondness</em> for this chaotic bunch. The process of his initiation, so to speak, had started that fateful night weeks ago when he had survived trial-by-Appa’s-judgement to become Aang’s econ tutor, and entered the next stage when he had faithfully attended as many group study sessions as possible during midterm season. Now, on Ember Island, he was developing individual rapport with his new friends and figuring out how he fit among them.</p><p>It was the easiest with Sokka; he had been the most welcoming from the start, and Zuko was surprised to learn how funny the intimidating looking fencer was. Obviously he had never been <em>truly </em>intimidated –growing up with his family had taught him the true meaning of that word. But when Azula had briefly picked up fencing the year earlier and he went to a tournament out of curiosity, his first impression of Sokka had been that of an agile and creative fencer. With the mask down, his demeanor was entirely different from the relaxed jokester Zuko hung out with now. It was fun to talk to Sokka, and granted that he wasn’t exactly <em>replacing </em>anyone, he was now Zuko’s closest male friend of his own age.</p><p>Surprisingly, Toph had also taken a liking to him too. A year ago her stubbornness would have grated on his nerves, but now he found it amusing how she pushed people around until she got whatever she wanted. In this aspect she was like Azula, but her methods were more direct, and it was hard to stay mad at her for long. Maybe it was because she was a few years younger, but Toph reminded him of what his sibling relationship had been back before his grandfather died, and it felt nice to act the older brother again.  Zuko kept promising her that they would go on a “field trip” one of these days, as per her repeated requests, and he had been thinking hard about where to go. Someplace that would appeal to both Toph’s nature and to her other senses besides sight. It had taken some asking around, but he now had a place in mind that he was <em>relatively </em>sure she would like. He sure hoped so, because he didn’t want to face her wrath if it wasn’t to her liking.</p><p>The last few days had also shown him a new side to Aang, whom he had formerly thought to be, honestly, a little air-headed. Zuko didn’t understand how he could be so unrelentingly optimistic and self-confident. Aang exuded first-year vibes to the max, always eager to try new things and bouncing back from difficulty. To be honest, the irritation Zuko had felt with him probably came from a fair bit of jealousy as well, as he had spent a rather lonely first year of college, too caught up trying to impress his father to pay attention to his social life, or lack thereof. And of course that had put him in a direct collision course with Aang and his friends, whom his father wanted so badly to silence. In order to protect his precious company and continue its expansion Ozai would stop at nothing, including “removing” unwanted players.</p><p>Zuko sighed. In this old house he was surrounded by the ghosts of his memories, and he wasn’t sure how they would connect with the future. <em>Grandfather would roll over in his grave if he knew this house was being used to plan the takedown of his son’s empire.</em></p><p>During one of their meetings about the Dai Li situation, Aang had proposed a connection between the police and Phoenix Rising. If Azula, who they knew had power within the Dai Li, had found out about their information-gathering, she would have reported immediately to Ozai. And in order to spread their message Aang hadn’t been particularly discreet, which meant this was likely. Accessing the public crime audit for Ba Sing Se University, he realized that the so-called “uptick” had started one week after the first email was sent out and continued steadily upwards since. It was hard to tell from the limited information if the reports were real or not, but a surprising number of student-reported incidents had to do with computer hacks, specifically targeting email and social networks. There was no direct evidence, but it seemed suspicious and worth further investigation. <em>If </em>Azula and Ozai had seen this information, then they might have been prompted to increase “security” on campus. And although Zuko’s father had no direct hand in on-campus affairs, with his status as a high-level donor and the strategic placement of his daughter, allying with the Dai Li meant he would likely be able to crush any students or faculty that stood in his path. Aang, as they all knew, was one of those. Learning about his history and the lengths his friends had gone to for information against the business and environmental practices of Phoenix Rising, Zuko couldn’t help but be impressed. He was quickly finding that there was more to the former monk-in-training than met the eye.</p><p>Over the past days, he had also gained a newfound appreciation for Suki. She had always been friendly, but also kept her guard up around him. Zuko understood perfectly well why this was the case, so he never tried to push it, never initiated a conversation. But during the course of their planning meetings a mutual respect had developed between them. Her comments were always sharp, incisive and practical, and she seemed to appreciate when he backed up one of her claims. <em>She could be great friends with Mai, </em>he mused, thinking back to his ex-girlfriend. They were both direct, straight-talking types who were devoted to their friends, although Suki was more willing to show it.</p><p>And of course, that left Katara. His interactions with Katara were what made these days feel “strange,” in his opinion, although strange wasn’t quite the right word. To tell the truth, he was a little frustrated. While the rest of the Gang his relationships had been progressing on a relatively smooth route, albeit each at their own pace and with plenty of unexpected occurrences. But with Katara, it felt like he was walking on a rough-hewn trail –it was beautiful and wild, but there were also snarling roots that tripped him up and winding paths where he lost his way. Right now, it felt like he was in a trench.</p><p>And yet so recently, he had thought himself on one of the high points of the trail, overlooking the lovely vista below. After their trip together to visit an old enemy, Katara had begun to open up to him. They had complained about overwhelming assignments and demanding professors, shared stories of their younger selves, and waxed poetic about one of their favorite series. Zuko was starting to understand her more, to be able to predict how she would react to certain things he said, and to understand her deeply caring nature. But he also remembered clearly the image of her standing fierce in the rain, how quickly she had disarmed Yon Rha and turned his own weapon against him. It was not a sight that one could easily forget, and it showed him the power she could wield within a slight frame.</p><p>That was the past, but now things were a little more complicated. After the bet and the night he had held her in the dark, they had almost immediately begun to avoid each other. Of course total exclusion was impossible because they lived in the same house, after all, but Zuko and Katara had made sure to never be alone together for more than a few minutes. He wasn’t sure who had started it, but now she even avoided eye contact, and he… was doing the same. To be honest, she seemed more closed-off in general now, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it or if it even had anything to do with him. In the background of his mind he always felt on edge whenever she came near, as much as he tried to dispel it by cracking a joke with Sokka or fussing over Toph. Why was it suddenly so hard?</p><p>It was early morning as he pondered over these issues, and no one else in the house had risen. Zuko sat cross-legged on the carpet of the living room, his mind drifting between observations of his housemates and stories of his past. He slipped into a tranquil state watching as warm rays of the newly risen sun crept up across hardwood boards to reach the far edge of the carpet, turning it a brilliant red. This time of day, he often thought back on the stories his mom used to tell him about the sun, how it fell into a deep sleep every night, a sleep so deep it seemed like death. But then each morning it would shake off its drowsiness and be reborn into the world. Just as the sun had a new chance to rise every day, <em>he </em>had a new chance to clean the slate and start afresh. This train of thought often led him into a longing for the past, to see his mother’s face again and run into her open arms. But each rising sun took him farther into the future, away from the times he would listen wide-eyed as she told her stories by candle light.</p><p>Just then he heard a creak on the stairs, shaking him out of his reverie. Before he had the chance to glance over and see who else was awake at the early hour, she announced her own presence.</p><p>“Yo, Sparky, never pegged you for a morning person!” the familiar voice said.</p><p>Ah, so then it was Toph.</p><p>“I thought all the coding bros stayed up late into the light chugging away on their laptops. But maybe you’re too weak-willed for that?”</p><p>“Good morning, Toph.” He smiled, hoping she could hear it. Zuko was glad she had interrupted his time alone; he hadn’t liked the direction his thoughts were heading. “To answer your question, I like to rise with the sun –an old habit, I guess. But I am surprised to see <em>you</em> here; don’t you usually like to sleep in?”</p><p>“Ugh, I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. But it’s better now that I know I’m not the only one up.” By now she had reached the bottom of the stairs and leaned over the bannister in his direction. “Eaten yet? I’ll make you breakfast if you take me on our field trip today!”</p><p> </p><p>That day Katara woke up late and got up even later; the sun had long been shining by the time she found the will to blearily roll out of bed. She hadn’t slept well the night before, having dreamt yet again of the encounter with Yon Rha. In her dreams she was thrown back to that moment when she held the gun and his life in her hands. She saw so clearly that look of desperation as he offered up information, his own mother, anything that could save him. She felt the electricity that coursed through her body in rolling waves, the intoxicating sensation of absolute power. And in that moment, she pulled the trigger.</p><p>
  <em>Crack!</em>
</p><p>An earth shattering crackling reverberated through her body and the bullet went straight through Yon Rha’s head. He looked at her, more surprised than anything, and as he toppled to the side ruptures began to appear in her vision until the scene turned dark.</p><p>She woke up terrified.</p><p>For the first few moments her dream was the truth, and she believed that she had really killed a man. But then her memories began to kick in and she remembered what had happened, that she was fine. Still, it was hard to sleep afterwards.</p><p>Back at school she had been too busy to process what she now realized was unhealed trauma from that event. Between swim and studying and worrying about the Dai Li, she had decided to file away all her emotions.  But now that she was removed from the hustle of daily life, Katara realized that they had only been swept under the rug, and that her fear, anger, and guilt were rearing their ugly heads once again.</p><p>Not for the first time, she wondered if there wasn’t something wrong with her, that she kept on dreaming the same violent dream. And that every time she reveled in the power, and every time she pulled the trigger. Afterwards, she felt sick to her stomach. Especially when she remembered that she really <em>had </em>felt that way all those weeks ago, face to face with that fear-stricken look. She really had considered it.</p><p>If these dreams made anything clear, it was that guns were dangerous for her. Not just for their actual lethality, but for the feeling of power that they created. It was almost like they <em>wanted </em>you to pull the trigger. These were the truths she had realized over the nights she spent thinking and thinking before finally falling asleep. She knew now even more clearly that even though Yon Rha hadn’t been <em>innocent, </em>violence would not have solved her problems. It wouldn’t have filled the hole in her heart, and it wouldn’t have healed her.</p><p>And now with the Gang’s talking about the Dai Li, she was realizing just how much trust Ba Sing Se put into the character of their armed officers. On the one hand, they were trained in safety and must have passed rigorous tests to achieve their positions. They were supposed to <em>protect </em>students, and she didn’t think that they would actually shoot a student. But hadn’t they proven themselves to be untrustworthy and unhelpful at best across several different situations? Even if it was just a few of the Dai Li, that still didn’t negate the awful experiences of her classmates. And did it really make sense for people who spent their time training with lethal weapons to be answering calls related to mental health?</p><p>Was there even a way to fix this?</p><p>It all seemed too complicated and too confusing, and so after her nightmare Katara had stayed awake for another several hours staring at the ceiling with all these thoughts and more running through her head. It was so strange, all around her was the serenity of the island but inside her head was a raging storm.</p><p>And so it had been a late morning. When she finally went downstairs to make herself brunch, it was clear she had been the last to rise. She entered the cozy kitchen to find only Suki at the table, nursing a cup of the Ember House Special. When she heard Katara coming in, Suki looked up from her book and smiled.</p><p>“Morning, sleepyhead.” She gestured to the table and drew Katara’s attention to a sheet of paper, with Toph’s slate and stylus next to it. “Looks like Toph and Zuko went out for the day, but they’ll be back before nighttime.”</p><p>Katara returned the greeting and picked up the note, fingers passing slowly over the braille letters. It was still easier for her to sight-read than touch-read, but short messages like this were good practice.</p><p>
  <em>Gone fishin, back soon!</em>
</p><p>Yup, that sounded like Toph alright.</p><p>Upon opening her eyes Katara noted the arrow pointing down and the second message written below the first.</p><p>
  <em>Okay, we’re not actually going fishing, but Toph and I will be out for the day. I think she just really wanted to say that? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her, and we’ll be back for dinner.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Z</em>
</p><p>“Aw, cute,” Katara said, heading over the fridge to rummage through its varied contents. Sokka had been sure to keep them well stocked with food, and had quickly familiarized himself with all the clerks at the small grocery store nearby. “I’m sure they’ll have a good time. So where are the boys then? Did they go scouting for more restaurants?”</p><p>They shared a smile at this; it wouldn’t have been the first time. But Suki shook her head.</p><p>“I think they’re just out walking around the beach; Aang saw some really giant fish yesterday that he wanted to show us. But I thought it’d be nice to stay in and have a slow morning, plus, I’ve been meaning to finish this book for ages!” She held up the cover for Katara to see. “It’s a biography of one of the greatest dancers of all time, and the woman our group is named after: Lady Kyoshi!”</p><p>“Woah, I thought you already knew everything there was about Kyoshi. Shouldn’t <em>you </em>be writing the biographies at this point?”</p><p> Suki laughed, pleased at the compliment. “Well, I could probably write the children’s book version. You’re right that I’ve read a lot about her –”</p><p>“And your dance style is influenced by her too, right?” Katara finally found what she was looking for –the giant tub of yogurt in the back of the top shelf.</p><p>“Yeah, she’s the main reason I started to dance in the first place. She had already passed when I was born, but watching the videos and learning from her students, I always got the sense that she was an amazing woman. Really powerful, and someone who would protect those in need at all costs.” Suki set the book down and looked at it fondly. “So many times I’ve wished I could have met her or gone to one of her shows. But this author, he describes everything in her life so vividly, it’s almost like he <em>lived </em>it.”</p><p>“Wow, really?” Turning away from her breakfast making mid granola-pour, Katara looked closer at the bottom of the cover, where shiny embossed letters announced the author’s name: TAVA EARTH. “That’s a pretty cool name! Let me know what you think when you finish it; maybe I’ll steal it away for a bit.”</p><p>“Of course, of course. You’d probably sprint through it in a weekend, but just so you know, I’m trying to savor it chapter by chapter. So it might take a while.”</p><p>Katara chuckled and brought her breakfast over to the table. She ate at a leisurely pace, admiring how sunlight filtered through palm trees swaying outside and attempting to dispel the demons of her nighttime. It really was a beautiful location with the beach and all the nature around them, and she knew she would miss this little oasis when they left in just two days. She had hoped for more time to soak in the calmness here before returning to her student life.</p><p>As Katara finished her food, Suki glanced up with a question on her lips.</p><p>“You know, Katara, I’ve been meaning to ask you… are you feeling alright? I know we’ve all been kind of stressed lately, but I feel like you’ve been a bit more tired than normal.”</p><p>“Oh, well, I don’t think it’s anything too bad,” Katara replied self-consciously. “I just need to get some more sleep.”</p><p>“You mean you haven’t been sleeping well recently?”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess –well, I just think some of the things we’ve been talking about recently have really gotten to me. It just… brings up memories I’d rather forget.”</p><p>“Oh,” Suki said, looking concerned. “Is this something you want to talk about? If you think it might help, you know I’m always here.”</p><p>Katara sighed. “I don’t know. There’s a few different things on my mind.” She didn’t feel like talking about Yon Rha yet, but maybe Suki could help her through on a different topic.</p><p>“It’s kind of complicated. I’ve actually been thinking about time with Hama recently.” As soon as she said the name, Katara felt her gut clench. “I… forget if we’ve told you about her before.”</p><p>“I have a general idea, but go on.”</p><p>“Basically, I apprenticed under her for a while. If that’s what you could call it.” Katara’s fingers tightened around each other and her fingernails dug into her skin. “She taught me… a lot of things. A lot about weapons, about fighting. I thought I was doing it for self-defense, to protect myself and my friends from what happened to <em>her </em>when she was younger. I thought we had the same enemy: companies like Phoenix Rising who weren’t above using violence to achieve their ends. But I didn’t realize what Hama really wanted until it was almost too late.” Emotions she had been trying to withhold forced their way into the forefront of her consciousness, and Katara’s hands began to tremble.</p><p>Suki reached out and put one hand over hers. “I’ve heard pieces of this from Sokka. But you did get away, didn’t you? You did the right thing.”</p><p>“Yes, in the end. But... what if we hadn’t figured it out? What if I had gone down that path? Hama had gotten to the point where she couldn’t even tell who her real enemy was, she was targeting innocent people for practice, and she wanted me to do the same!” Her voice was getting louder now, more out of control and she couldn’t stop it. </p><p>“What did she see in me, that she thought I could be capable of such things?”</p><p><em>That was it. That’s what I’m afraid of. </em>Katara hadn’t even put this question into words in her own head. She hadn’t wanted to give voice to that dark thought, hadn’t connected the dots between her past and present, but now it was in the open and she couldn’t take it back. She hung her head, wondering what Suki would think of her now.</p><p>For a long moment, neither said a word and the silence rang unbearably loudly. But then Suki tightened her grasp on Katara’s hands.</p><p>“Oh, sweetie…” she said, and when Katara dared to look up again she saw Suki’s face full of tenderness and sorrow.”</p><p>“You must know that none of that was your fault. You were trying to do what you thought was best at the time. And Sokka and Aang were there too, weren’t they? You were <em>all</em> fooled, and you all learned and escaped <em>together</em>. Katara, you can’t blame yourself for the bad things that might have happened, but never did because you <em>stopped them</em>.”</p><p>Against her own wishes, Katara found tears beginning to well up and then tumble down her cheeks. She felt like a little kid again, running to Gran-Gran for comfort and reassurance in the first nights after her mom had died. “But Hama taught those things to <em>me, </em>not Sokka or Aang. She knew they wouldn’t do it; but she knew I <em>would. </em>She knew I would take to it, and I did. I learned so fast –”</p><p>“Katara. Look at me. Do you trust me?”</p><p>Katara nodded, unable to speak now.</p><p>“Good, so listen. While you were with Hama, did you ever harm a person?”</p><p>She shook her head. With a deep breath to calm her ragged breathing, “I… I probably scared some people though.”</p><p>“Perhaps.But even when you believed that your mentor was trying to enact justice, you never followed her lead. You never hurt anyone. Then, after you left her, did you ever use the skills you learned to hurt anyone?” Suki’s eyes were steady as she looked at her friend.</p><p>“Almost,” Katara whispered, remembering her dream.</p><p>“But you didn’t.” Suki’s voice softened. “Listen, we can have violent thoughts, we can have violent desires, but that doesn’t mean we have to<em> act </em>upon them. The people we need to look out for are those that <em>act </em>with violence, not those who have the skills but use them wisely. Right?</p><p>Besides, Aang used to be a monk and Sokka has a professed hatred for modern weapons, whereas you’re a quick and meticulous learner. Of course Hama preferred to teach you! But that doesn’t mean you’re bound to her or what she did. We all make our own choices and create our own paths. It’s obvious that yours will be different.”</p><p>Wiping her face with the proffered tissues, Katara continued taking deep breaths to calm herself down. “I hope so,” she said weakly.</p><p>Suki shook her head. “I <em>know </em>so, and you should too. I am one thousand percent confident in this.” Seeing her friend’s lips begin to curve upwards, she added. “One thousand and one!”</p><p>The smile was real this time, and only a little bit wavery. Katara felt like she had just weathered a typhoon of emotions; it had come up out of nowhere, raged on while fueled on her latent thoughts and fears, and with Suki’s help slowly begun to dissipate.</p><p>“Hey, do you want to get out of this house for a while? We can walk along the beach together, or if you want to be alone just let me know. I won’t take offense.” Suki smiled back warmly.</p><p>Katara hesitated, but only briefly. “Yeah… yeah, I’d like that. Let’s go for a walk. And… thank you, Suki.”</p><p>In response, Katara was enveloped in a huge bear hug. “Anytime, sis! I’m glad you felt comfortable enough with me to share, and I just hope you see in yourself what everyone else does.” When she pulled away, Katara saw that her confidant’s eyes were also glistening.</p><p>“No, stop that!” she protested, brushing away the remnants of her own tears. “You’ll get me started again!”</p><p>“Okay, okay,” Suki laughed, and did “stop that.” It almost made Katara jealous, since her own tears were often unstoppable once they started. Something about being a water sign?</p><p> </p><p>The walk was surprisingly pleasant, with a gentle zephyr blowing from across the ocean. The pair were quiet, each lost in her own thoughts but occasionally pointing out a little bird poking about in the sand, or a green lizard flashing its way through the tree roots. After a while they met up with Aang and Sokka, who brought tall tales and laughter with them, and if they saw Katara’s still-puffy eyes a look from Suki was enough to keep them quiet. Instead, they bragged about some giant fish they had seen in a lagoon farther off. Apparently Aang had even tried to ride one, with limited success. As her friends re-enacted this crazy adventure, Katara let herself be brought along for the ride and even took part as one of the fish who smacked Aang off his mount.</p><p>The group headed back to the house still giggling, and so it took a while for them to notice the lone figure standing outside their door, leaning casually against it as if she owned the place. </p><p>Once they did, they recognized her immediately. Shoulder length black hair floated around her face, and she was dressed in an elegant set that looked like it cost more than Katara’s entire wardrobe. As they walked up, she left her post and came down to meet them. Sharp eyes assessed each member in turn and left the impression of a lynx examining the foolish creatures that had wandered into her den.</p><p>“Hey, losers,” she drawled, crossing her arms and giving them a chilly smile that sent shivers down Katara’s spine. “Have you seen my brother? I have a <em>message </em>for him.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m just gonna say it, I think Toph brings out Zuko’s maternal instincts :D I love the idea of him taking her under his wing and going on field trips together… but let’s be honest, who is really taking on who?</p><p>So yeah, there's quite a lot going on in this chapter! I thought it would be interesting to explore where are friends are mentally... and although I didn't quite expect all that to happen, it makes sense to me that Katara would be wrestling with some difficult emotions now. </p><p>I'd love to know what you thought (reviews are v appreciated :D), and if you caught the name of the author of Kyoshi's biography...<br/>As always, thanks for reading and have a great rest of your day!</p>
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